Dog Tags
by cyndy1
Summary: Riku's not acting like himself and what does this new kid have to do with it? No longer a oneshot! Chapter 11 is now up and running. Hope you enjoy! RikuOC slight OCC
1. Chapter 1

It was a sunny afternoon as a small, old-looking car parked into the driveway of a blue, two-story Victorian house with a "For Sale" sign with the label "Sold" slashed over it in the front yard. A middle aged happy couple popped out of the silver, broken-down car and began to pick up some boxes from the trunk as a small, pale teenager slipped out slowly from the back seat, taking in her surroundings. She found the sunny, happy atmosphere of Destiny Islands very intriguing and almost captivating as she tugged at the strap of her messenger bag that she always carried around with her. Even though it's only few treasures were her black Ipod, silver digital camera, and two composition notebooks; one for sketches and one for her writings. She watched her parents practically do a victory dance in the doorframe, and smiled as she began to help them carry boxes into their new house.

After an hour or so of moving boxes to and fro, they had all sat down on the front steps to admire their new lives out here. It had been two years since Heartless and Nobodies had destroyed world after world and most of the relatives in that family had succumbed to the darkness within them, or had died during relentless attacks. Of course the little pale girl found the fight between light and dark utterly ridiculous, since dark and light resided in everyone how could one completely destroy the other to even create a Heartless or a Nobody? Little did she know of the Key blade bearer and his journeys. She only knew of what she heard during the time her old home was destroyed.

"You want to go and check out the town, Grace?" the dark haired man asked his daughter as her eyes lit up. She began to rapidly nod her head as an answer since she never really did like to speak only because she felt that most of the time words were meaningless when around at times and that no one wanted to hear them. He chuckled and tossed her the spare house keys, which she stored in one of the many pockets of her black cargo pants. "Be back before nightfall!" and with that she marched onward now on a mission to explore the beauty of her new environment.

On her way around town, her mind wandered to her friends that she had left behind right before her senior year. Yes, she'd be eighteen in about a month and the thought of having "the best year of her life" spent in a new school when she already barely spoke as it is sounded like torture. A breeze blew through her long cinnamon colored hair as the sight of the Island's beach took her breath away. She tugged her black and white stripped arm warmers up a little so she could dig into her worn down messenger bag to find her camera.

Meanwhile in the distance a tall boy watched from behind one of the palm trees with a smile as little Grace plopped onto the sand in a childish manner lying flat on her stomach as she tried to get the perfect angle of the ocean's waves and palm trees waving with the wind. There was something about this girl that made him… want to _glomp_ her like his fangirls wanted to do to him. She seemed… so _kawaii_. He shook his head as the thought crossed his mind. He was practically an adult man, now that he was 18, and his cocky manhood pride only let him think that girls and gay men used the word kawaii for descriptions.

While the boy was suffering inner turmoil about said girl, she had now popped up from her original standing position and closed her eyes while twirling around with her arms extended out as she took in all the sounds and smells around her. Sadly enough, she missed the sound of the silver haired chap trying to act casual as he walked over to her and smacked right into him, while still in mid twirl, causing her to land face-first into the sand. The boy frantically helped the petit girl up as she sweatdropped slightly in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry about that," the boy said as Grace dusted the sand off of her white short-sleeved shirt that read: "Music keeps me sane so you better hope my Ipod doesn't die soon." She nodded her head, not making eye contact with the boy in fear he'll make fun of her like most people did. It took all the boy's strength not to squeal out girlishly at how adorable she was acting when she looked shy like that.

"M-my names," he coughed to cover up for his nervousness that was creeping into his voice, ruining his cocky, cool composure he normally maintained, "My name's Riku." All Grace did was nod once again, and point to the black dog collar she wore around the middle of her neck that bore three silver tags. Of course, she had no idea what the tags actually said since her friends had given her the collar and tags as a going-away gift, but she was so excited about this kind gesture that she strapped it on before even taking a look at it. Riku, now insanely curious about this quiet bundle of cuteness, immediately made up the distance between them then twirled the three tags between his fingers and read them quietly to himself.

The first tag read the name "_Grace_" on one side while the back had the following speech:

"_If found, please make jokes about how insanely pale and cheap she is and tell her that I love her and miss her so she doesn't think I'm being an ass to her like always. Love Will… Oh, and don't forget that S.E.X. is always the answer! ;D"_

After a suffering a quick brain malfunction at the fact _Will _had written how he loved the girl that he, himself couldn't stop eyeing, he went on to the second tag that had the name "_Agent 69"_ engraved on the front and another little speech on the back that said:

"_If found, please return to her sister from another mister (yeah, I'm cool), since I miss her and we still have many secret missions to complete before the evil Doctor Banana tries to take over the world. If you don't… I WILL find you. MWHAHAHA! Love Agent 89."_

The third tag read the name "_Cinnamon Bun" _on the front and yet another little speech on the back that read:

"_If found, please remind her to keep in touch with me! Tell Cinny I miss her otherwise my evil minions from under my bed will find you. Love Lu Lu Laura."_

"So do I call you Cinnamon Bun, Grace, or Agent 69?" Riku asked with a cocky smirk as he saw the girl's pale cheeks take on a bright shade of red as she took a step away from the boy and began to fiddle with the tags around her neck still not being able to see them for herself.

"Grace," she mumbled weakly as she looked at the now setting sun. She fought the urge to take a picture of the sight that she would most likely sketch later so she could face the fact that she had to get home… "But where is home, again?" she thought lamely to herself. Then she turned to finally look the boy in his aquamarine eyes, which oddly enough made the both of them suffer the same after-effect of breathlessness. "Bye," she stated simply as she proceeded to take on the direction that she at least thought was home so she could ponder on why she was that badly effected by just one look in his eyes.

"I bet you're new here, since normally I know all the girls here… most of them are my fangirls," he stated cockily as he ran up to her only to stand in her way while she raised in eyebrow at him, "I bet you need help getting home." The girl only shrugged since she no longer felt the need to speak and was completely unaware that that was the one thing the boy wanted—to hear her voice again. She dug into her messenger bag looking for the slip of paper that her father had written the address on so she could tell her three best friends where to visit. Riku cocked his head to the side as a small pale hand rammed a sheet of paper into his large tan hands. He opened the paper only to find she where lived which caused him to smirk greatly. "Oh, cool. You only live a block away from me," he stated happily as he lead the girl down the street opposite of where she actually thought her home was.

The walk was mostly in silence since Grace was deep in thought about this boy walking beside her and was beginning to miss the people she had trusted the most as she fiddle with the tags on her collar, while Riku was thinking about ways to get the girl talking again… anything to get out of this eerie silence since he was use to Sora's loud, bouncy personality.

"So your friends gave you a dog collar?" Riku asked in attempts of making conversation. Grace sighed as she realized how deeply she missed all of them.

"Yeah, to represent that I'll always belong to them. Of course it's also Will's way of calling me his bitch," she stated as she reminisced about the time Will had to ward off some creepy guy by proclaiming that his 'hoe' was worth way too much.

"Will? So is he like you're boyfriend?" he asked hoping not to sound desperate. He was still in shock that the small girl had uttered more then one sentence, so in shock that he didn't realize that they were already at her house.

"He's more of a… well, girlfriend," she said quietly with a slight chuckle, leaving Riku confused as she waved goodbye and walked up to her house. The boy stood there for a few seconds wondering what this feeling he had in his stomach he had gotten the minute she smiled at him, but decided to let it slide as he walked down the street and went to his house while deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Grace had hopped up the stairs to her room after mumbling a "goodnight" to her parents and decided to finally read the dog tags on her collar. Once she finished reading all of the silver tags, she was sprawled on the ground laughing at how silly they all were and decided to ring them up. Luckily, they were all hanging out at Will's house for the night.

"ZOMG! Grace! What's cracking?" shouted Sue (A.K.A. Agent 84) as she ran from the other two that were fighting over their turn with the phone.

"Hi, I just wanted to see how you guys were… I miss you all," Little Gracey stated quietly. Normally her friends brought out the talkative, silly side in her, but she was too sad to be loud.

"AHA! I WIN BI-ACTH!" shouted Lu Lu Laura in the background as she finally tackled Sue to the ground and had the phone now in her possession, "Cinny! I sense you've met someone today! Remember we all agreed that we'd have to approve of any men we have relationships with!" Yes, Lu Lu was a bit of a psychic and could always sense people, feelings, and sometimes even peoples' pasts… weird, but affective. Grace blushed a little.

"I only met this odd boy. Nothing special, relax."

"Well, odd is always—"

"Let me speak to my albino!" shouted Will in the background as he kneed Lu Lu in the butt and stole the phone while Lu Lu was on the ground mumbling a line of profanities to cover up the pain now in her rump, "We're visiting you soon! Be prepared for rape hugs!"

"Oh god…"

"Tee-hee!"

"Well, don't kill anyone on your way up," she said as she chuckled at the inside joke and ended the conversation since they had to go.

Grace tugged out her messenger bag and pulled out her Ipod and sketchbook. She also grabbed some pastels and pencils out of one of the few boxes in her room, that she was too lazy to unpack, and laid her tools out neatly around her. Her type of drawing was done by the subconscious, just like her writing. Instead of planning what she was going to draw, she'd not think, listen to her music, and let her pencil do the talking for her. While her Ipod blasted out the lyrics and music to "The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined" by the Chiodos, she stopped suddenly when she saw that she had drawn a pair of very detailed aqua eyes with silver eyebrows. After clearing her head slightly, she continued the drawing only for it to take on a different form. By the time she was down she had drawn the beach on a starry night with the aqua eyes, which slightly blending into the midnight sky, starring down at the beautiful ocean beneath. Finally she got changed and gave her best attempt to fall asleep.

With the bright sunshine cascading from the sky to her bedroom, Grace stretched and fell out of bed. After some groaning and mumbling of profanities, she got up, got changed, ate some breakfast, and went out the door to get some new shoots of the town. Of course, it was noon by the time she actually got up so when she came into the town's center, it was about 2:00 p.m. She pulled out her camera and snapped shots of the children running around the large fountain in the center of the town. While scanning the area and snapping random shots as to get a feel of the townspeople in their natural habitat, she saw Riku walk up to her as she accidentally took his picture.

"Hi there," he stated happily still trying to act himself and not squeal girlishly at her presence, "What ya doing?" The teen simply pointed to her camera, switched the camera's setting to flash, and took his picture, which slightly blinded him for a few seconds. He knew he heard Grace giggle at his attempt to see again by blinking rapidly. "So that's funny to you?" he asked, now with the power of sight on his side again, watched her nod her head vigorously causing him to smirk at the thought of what he was going to do next. "Well, how 'bout this!" he exclaimed as he simply splashed the water from the fountain on to the small girl.

Of course, she didn't react at first, only blinking once or twice. This caused Riku to worry that he crossed the line as he watched her walk away slowly, go to a nearby dollar store, and come back out with a bottle of water.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked in concern since he saw the dead look in her eyes. Little did he know, that she had a plan of her own and with that thought, she opened the bottle, got on her tip-toes to pour the water on top of his head, and then ran away before he could react. "Oh no she didn't…" with that he chased after her all the way to the beach where her bag fell off her shoulder when she tripped in the sand, he caught up with her to easily. While plucking her out devastated form from the sand, he carried her bridal towards the ocean.

"Oh no…" she mumbled weakly as he walked out till he was knee deep in ocean.

"Oh yes!" he exclaimed as he dropped her into the salty sea. Once the shock wore off, she got up and tried to push him down only to find he didn't move an inch causing him to chuckle and her to glare at his chest since she was too short to glare at his face without having to look too far upward.

"You suck," she grumbled, as she was about to walk away only to have an arm wrapped around her waist and pull her back causing her to blush.

"Truce?" he asked as he unwillingly let her go so he could offer a handshake.

"Fine," she stated as she shook his hand; both feeling the sparks from each other's touch.

The next morning came quickly and Riku had become very bored. In fact, he found that after his encounters with the heartless and nobodies were finally done with, that he had nothing to do. To put it simply, island life was boring since nothing ever changed… but this new girl had provoked his curiosity and his boring routine. Actually he was on his way to her house now to get to learn more about her and the feelings she gave him.

Grace stretched in her bed and let out a small yawn as she heard a knock at the door. Yes, it was noon and the little girl had just woken up. Still in a sleepy state, she fumbled out of bed, trudged down the stairs, and after accidentally walking into the door, opened it only to find that odd silver-haired boy on her porch steps silently rubbing the back of his neck. Riku took note of her brown, oversized Alexisonfire band shirt, her reindeer boxer shorts, and the black knit cap with black cat ears on the top of her head as she yawned and attempted to rub the sleep out of her large ice blue eyes.

"Did you just wake up?" he asked with a cocky smirk as the girl in a zombie-like state just turned on her heel and fumbled back up the stairs to her room with the door still wide open. Riku took this as an invitation and waltzed into the living room where he sat and waited for her.

Meanwhile, Grace donned on a white, buttoned up shirt with a black tie, a black plaid skirt, her black and white stripped arm warmers, her dog collar now tightened around her wrist as a bracelet, her black, worn messenger bag slung over her shoulder, and a pair of long, black oversized boots with buckles running down the sides and lazily put on some eyeliner and a light shade of eye shadow. She also kept her knit cap on since she was too lazy to take it off.

She didn't worry that her parents would discover a boy in the house since they were off starting their first day with their mom-and-pop restaurant/deli. It was their life long dream and Grace was going to work there no matter how or if she protested. Of course, she didn't officially start work till tomorrow. In all honesty, she didn't mind but she just didn't like to work with food. She was into creating things with a pencil and camera, not with a spatula. Anyway, she finally began to trudge back down the stairs only to find Riku now at the bottom of the steps looking up curiously at her.

"Would you like a tour of the island?" he asked trying to act casual as she nodded sluggishly. "Not a morning person?" he chuckled at how adorable she was and watched her as she almost walked into the doorframe when she tried to exit the house.

The two walked around town while Riku described the little of the town history he knew, which Grace found slightly boring but then again, she was paying more attention to his features then to his lectures on the island. Of course, Riku didn't notice because he was to busy sneaking glances also. Oh how painfully oblivious they were. Anyway, I digress. He tried to find out more things about this girl, but she somehow shimmied away from the topic and got him to talk about his past… and he almost revealed his past about his adventures in the darkness, which surprised him by all means that this little pintsized girl could make him want to confess most of his past. By the end of the tour, the boy with the silver dome wanted to show the girl the play island that all his friends grown to know and love, but knew he promised to meet his bone-head friend, Sora, at his house in the next couple minutes.

"Well, I'm sorry but I got to go. Maybe will finish this another time?" Riku stated politely in attempts to be a gentleman. The girl smiled sweetly making his heart soar and his mind become puzzled as she gave him a large bear hug as a 'thank you'. They both felt a tingly sensation as Riku hugged back once the shock passed. A minute or two passed as Grace tried to pull away only to find Riku's grip to be very strong. Reality soon hit him and he let her go causing them both to blush madly.

"W-well, yeah sooo… I-I'll be going. B-bye," Grace stammered weakly as she sped walked away tripping once or twice, now completely confused. Riku watched the girl's retreating figure and then finally turned to find his friend once she was out of sight. To him, these emotions didn't make sense and wondered if he should stop seeing the girl to see what would happen with that feeling in his chest. I mean, come on, how can one person create such inner turmoil for another? Or at least that's what his notion on the topic was.

"Riku? You okay?" Sora asked after waving his hand in front of his face. Riku snapped out of his train of thought to face the shorter teen.

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know. You seem like you're suffering… Y-you're not leaving are you?" Riku raised an eyebrow at the spiky haired boy since he found it utterly ridiculous that he'd come to that conclusion.

"Wow, and to think I thought you'd have gotten smarter after all these years," he teased Sora with his cocky smirk and watched the boy fume at this comment.

"Well then what is it that's got you thinking then?" he asked after his little temper tantrum. Riku debated weather to tell his best friend of the new girl in town since Sora could blackmail him easily, but he did anyway. Sora listened patiently which was usually odd for the hyped up key blade bearer.

"…And I just don't get why she's giving me these feelings…" he finished his speech as he waited for Sora's response but was only meant by his foolish grin.

"Dude, way to disappoint me. I thought it was going to be this huge thing and it turns out you're just in love. Try to be more entertaining, Riku!" he exclaimed to the taller lad and playfully punched him in the arm. Love? THE Riku was in love? Psh, he's too cool for love… Okay, maayybbee not, but the statements from Sora did leave him in shock.

Ten days flew by and Riku never went to see Grace. He wanted to, truly he did, but he wasn't sure what to do with these feelings of love. He didn't want to keep hanging out with her and have to fight the sadness of not being able to hold her close without seeming like a rapist.

"Soooo Sora told me that you got bit by the love bug! Who is it?" Kairi stated happily, as they entered her house. Yes, Riku decided to hide his pain by hanging out Kairi… that wasn't working out so well at the moment.

"The new girl…" He mumbled wishing he'd hung out with Sora instead.

"Really? That's cuuttee! So how you gonna tell her?" she nosily asked while she plopped on the couch in her living room.

"I'm not."

"Why not!?" she exclaimed as she practically fell off the couch in shock that the Riku, that was utterly gorgeous and knew it hence the I'm-above-you attitude, was too shy to ask a girl out. What happened to him!?

"I doubt she'll like me like that."

"Come on! Any girl would be happy to have you!"

"You think?"

"Duh!"

"Thanks," he stated fumbling with his thumbs as a sense of nervousness sloshed in the bottom of his stomach.

"So how you gonna tell her? It better be romantic!"

"You're starting to sound like Sophie…"

"Well! How are you?" It was at that moment he came up with a great idea and sprinted out the house before he'd completely forget the brilliance of his plan and left Kairi, still on the couch, utterly confused.

Meanwhile, Grace was sitting on the dock with her notebook on her lap writing a very odd poem. She realized a long time ago that when she used her subconscious to write she'd get very violent and dark poems and stories and in an odd way, she liked them. It was her way of reminding herself of the darkness within her. She had been writing more often as to get her mind off of a certain silver-haired, aqua eyed, cutie, but it never worked out well. She even tried consuming herself in her work at her parents' restaurant, but nothing worked. In fact, she was very aware that he was avoiding her, and thought that it was her fault. This caused her to hate herself a bit, which was why she needed to write— to get rid of the hatred. While closing her notebook and looking at the setting sun, she let out a long sigh. This was the only day off she had so far, and it was already time to go. Once she got up from her spot, dusted off her grey skinny jeans and black Paramore shirt, and turned around, she saw Riku standing there in a nervous fashion while hiding something behind his back. The sight of him left her breathless, although she still had no idea why.

"H-hey," Riku stammered as he tried to think of how to make the following sound right, "I-I know we've only known each other for a little while, but being with you, feels like… like… like something that's familiar and right. Anyway, I just wanted to give you this." And with that he shoved a brown, mashed up paper bag into her small hands. After looking at him with a very puzzled expression, she did her best attempt to open the bag only to end up ripping it to shreds and have something fall to the ground. She picked it up to discover it was a gold dog tag. The front read, "_Grace" _while the back had the following passage:

"_In such a short time, I've grown attached to a certain girl. If you're reading this, then you've found her. I only hope that'll she'll be mine. Love, Riku"_

When she read this, she went into complete shock. She never expected anyone to say those things. In fact, she'd never been in a relationship before. Her first instinct was to reject him since it'd be like going out with a stranger, but a voice in the back of her mind kept yelling at her to go for it.

"I-I'm not sure what to say…" she started weakly as her phone vibrating loudly interrupted her, "Hold on, sorry." She read the text message numbly as she realized what it meant. "Oh no…"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I knew I was too forward and—" he stammered weakly, thinking she had rejected him. While he was having a mini panic attack, Grace soon remembered the pact she made with her friends about having to approve of any guy you were thinking of dating.

"No, not you. I'd say 'yes', but… they're coming…" her voice quivered slightly as fear sliced its way into her veins.

"Who?" he asked now as confused as ever.

"My friends… The people who have to approve of this," she stated numbly. Riku cocked his head to the side. He didn't see a downside to this. I mean, come on, how bad could that be? Of course… he was dead wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

Grace fumbled with her hands nervously as Riku walked her home in order to try to make a good impression on her friends. She was hoping in every fiber of her being that they would try to be nice. Once they got to the front of her house, Riku took note of the skinny, tall, pale girl with long blackish brown hair, side bangs streaked purple, with odd colored lavender eyes sprinting towards them as she took Grace's fragile form in her arms and lifted her in the air while twirling around for a little bit. The small girl's pale face soon began to take on a light blue shade in the taller girl's iron grip as she was set down still in the purple eyed girl's arms.

"Rape hug!" shouted a tan, model-like boy with short jet-black 'emo' hair highlighted with a bright blue that matched his striking blue eyes as he kneed the poor girl's backside and sandwiched Grace in between him and the other girl.

"I love you too, Lu Lu and Will," she murmured weakly as she successfully escaped their clutches by making her body completely limp and slipping through onto the ground. Once she got to her feet, the short, tan girl with the blonde hair and sparkling grey eyes that was hiding in the background came barreling towards her at top speed, screaming "Catch me!" at the top of her lungs as she leapt into the air. Of course Grace tried her best to follow the girl's request but she was only able to catch the upper half of her friend causing them both to collide to the ground. The blonde hopped up to her feet dusted off her demin shorts and her orange softball jersey and pretended to get angry and storm off dramatically.

"Ugh you bitch! You're supposed to catch me! GOSH!" she yelled exaggeratedly as she continued to storm off without looking where she was going and walked into the garage door, "YOU DIDN"T SEE THAT!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! I love you Sue!!" she shouted at her friend while trying not to giggle too much as Will yanked her upward and into his arms. Riku watched the scene in bewilderment (and jealousy for Will being so close) since he never expected Grace to befriend such… crazy people. He was even shocked to hear Grace _shout_ let alone speak more then two sentences. Lu Lu Laura took notice of the silver-haired boy with his jaw practically dropping to the ground and decided to make an _impression_ on the boy.

"You know if you keep your mouth open like that something's bound to find it's way in," she stated mockingly seductive with a wink and put her hand out, "Name's Lauren but you can call me Laura." The minute he shook hands with Laura, her grip tightened causing him to wince slightly at her touch and her purple eyes glazed completely as her whole frame became rigid. "You've had a dark past, eh?" she asked in a dark tone. Her voice hauntingly icy as she gripped his hand even tighter and pulled him closer only to whisper in his ear, "You hurt her in any way and I will make you wish you stayed in darkness." Riku eyes became wide as he watched the mysterious girl walk back over to Will and Grace teasing each other childishly like they always did. He flexed his hand to get rid of the pain she gave him in realization of how strong she was. His mind was working in over time as he tried to figure out how she could even figure out his past, yet the shame of those events washed over him almost immediately as he soon was bear hugged by Sue.

"Hi there! I'm Sue! Lu Lu thinks you asked out our Grace, did you?" she asked in a bouncy and upfront manner.

"How does Laura know these things?" he thought to himself in bewilderment as he nodded to the girl's question causing her to squeal in happiness and hand him a small slip of paper. He took it with a questioning expression on his face as he examined it slowly.

"It's Grace's cell number! I know she's probably too shy to give it to you so I thought I'd help!" she whispered to him in excitement and skipped over to the trio that was watching Riku's reactions to Sue. Riku walked over to Will, who had his arms wrapped protectively around Grace's waist, and tried to ignore the urge to rip Will from Grace.

"I'm Riku. Nice to meet you," he greeted as gentleman-like as he could and stuck out his hand for a handshake. Will only stared at Riku's hand with an emotionless glance, his eyes darting around in split seconds.

"Yo," was all Will could say as he completely ignored the silver chap's gesture.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you guys to get settled in. It was nice meeting you. Bye," he stated as politely as possible and walked away, occasionally looking back at Grace's smilingly yet worried face.

"I don't like him," stated Will and Lu Lu simultaneously once Riku was out of earshot.

"I do!" Sue exclaimed while bouncing up and down and raising her hand randomly, oblivious to the glares she was receiving from Will and Laura. Grace sighed and decided to not even discuss it as she started to walk over to Will's old beaten down station wagon so she could help unpack.

"So how long are you guys staying?" she asked as she began to pull out one of their many suitcases.

"The whole moonntthh!" Sue shouted in a singsong voice as Grace's eyes became wide with excitement.

"Really!?" she exclaimed as she dropped the bag in shock.

"YESH!" Sue shouted as she pumped her fist in the air and did a full out touch down dance in the driveway consisting in random swaying of the arms and hips and some pelvic thrusting that Grace joined in on.

"You guys are idiots…" Will stated loudly so they could both hear him causing him to smirk in satisfaction when they both stopped and glared at him.

"Your mom's having us work at the restaurant in exchange for free room and board here. We figured we'd spend some time with you before school starts and all. Plus you're dad already sent us our working schedule," Laura stated as she pulled a folded up sheet of paper out of the pocket of her bright purple skinny jeans and tossed it to Grace who fumbled with it for a few seconds before completely unfolding it. To Grace, the schedule was pretty nice since they'd each work a two person shift for five hours and then swap with their friends and her parents let all of them have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. After Grace cheered in excitement, they began unpacking the suitcases and that was when she took notice of two guitar cases stacked on the back seats.

"I sense your trying to force me into a band again?" she asked, hoping it wasn't going to be that.

"Aw, come on. It would be perfect! Lu can play electric guitar, and scream perfectly! Sue's just as good with bass and can do back-up vocals! I know how to play almost every instrument and have a decent voice, if I say so myself! We all harmonize perfectly and you can sing and scream! Why else wouldn't we? Plus, you, Lu, and Sue love writing so you can easily write songs!!! Plleeaassee? Let me hoe you out to the entertainment world!" he exclaimed while pouting at the end. The small, pale girl cringed slightly at the thought of having to perform. Yes, she could sing and act, but even when the school plays came around, she'd always be on stage crew working the curtains. She twitched at the sight of Will's adorable sad face. His looks could seriously kill. He had a muscular build, which were shown perfectly through his dark blue wife beater that he was wearing, facial features of a god, and a sexy, deep voice. Who could ask for more? Well, his slight schizophrenia did hold him back a bit. Sure, he ignored the things he saw and didn't tell anyone except for the three who stood before him, waiting for Grace's response, but it was the one thing that kept him from sleeping some nights.

"But now that I live two hours away, how would we accomplish th—"

"We'd come by on weekends or practice via web cam! Come on, don't make me get the spiky dildoe," he threatened jokingly as she cringed away from the boy and mumbled a "maayybbee". Will smiled victoriously and continued with unloading the car while singing his own little jingle which consisted of: "We're gonna start a band! Yay! It's going to be great! Yay!"

Once everything had finally settled down, the three newcomers were getting ready for bed in the two guestrooms while Grace continued to do some extra writing in hopes that it would make her tired. Just as she finished up another page of random writing, her phone started to vibrate violently causing her to fall of the bed in surprise and answered it.

"Ello?" she questioned meekly into the receiver, wondering whom exactly would call her at midnight.

"Hey, it's Riku. By the way, just so you don't think I'm stalking you or anything, Sue gave me your number," he stated while chuckling at the end in hopes she'd also find it humorous. Of course, she did since she knew her friend way to well.

"Sooo…" she mumbled not really sure what to say.

"Sooo… what do they think of me?" he asked knowing that the odds were against him.

"You've got one on your side… but don't worry, I've got a month to convince them," she stated knowing how impossible it would be as silence embedded over the phone lines.

"Hey, there's something about you I don't understand… When I first met you, you were so quiet and barely spoke, but when I saw you with your friends you became this bright, funny person. What made the difference?" he asked, curiosity enveloping his voice.

"Well, my friends and I made a promise that if I opened up then they would too. It was as simple as that. Plus, I don't really find words to be that useful since most of what we say is in our body language," she explained briefly afraid she'd poke fun at her silly little idea.

"Makes sense, I guess. Hey, I want to know… Were you actually going to say yes to me when I asked you out?" he asked since he knew that she never really did answer her question so to him it was like a "maybe". He never been rejected by a girl before, thanks to his fangirls, but he also never felt anything towards them like he did for her even if it had only been a short amount of time. Of course this simple question set Grace into a panic as she gripped onto the tag that he had given her that was now clipped on the collar around her neck.

"Uhh…" she began as her mind whirled around trying to get out of this situation, but she could only come up with the truth, "Well, I didn't know what to do. I mean, come on, we only known each other for about 13 days so were basically strangers, right? Plus, I have no experience in this so what if I screw it up?" She let out a sigh as she realized she had basically rejected him over the phone, which she didn't want to do. She didn't plan on letting him go just yet. "I got an idea though. How 'bout we promise to tell a little about ourselves by asking each other questions?" she asked in hopes to get to know him more since he was basically a mystery to her, "That way, we get to know one another before jumping into things. Even if my friends say no, I want to be with you" While throwing a hand up to cover her mouth as she slipped out that last statement, Riku couldn't help but smirk and embrace his cocky personality.

"Works for me, but you have to speak up more. I do enjoy hearing you," he mused while his smirk slowly grew. Soon they decided it'd be best to get to bed and said goodnight to one another. Once Grace hung up the phone, she let out a sigh as she felt her insomnia kicking in. Yes, she suffered from insomnia. She'd usually be up all night till 10:00 am and wake up at noon feeling like crap. Since she wanted to at least try to sleep, she put on a black pair of boxer shorts, a long sleeve white cotton shirt, and her soft black cap with the kitty ears and plopped into bed pulling her hat over her eyes as a blinder. She then popped in her earphones and played some show tunes in hopes to knock her out for the night.

Unbeknownst to Grace, Will had entered her room shortly after because he didn't want to be alone with the _strangers_ he saw in his room. Yes, he was sharing a room with Sally, but she always slept through the night with no problem. He knew that little Grace was the one who would normally be up at this time, but when he came in, he thought she was out like a light. While shrugging, he walked over to Grace to make sure she was asleep, and discovered the NEW tag on her collar. Curiosity overcame him as he took it gingerly in his hands and read it in disgust. After twitching slightly and taking a look to the clock knowing Lu Lu would be up know, he ducked quietly out of the room. Laura was always up at 3:37 or any time involving three or seven since she felt it haunted her every waking minute. It was a phobia of course, but she couldn't stop and feel somewhat connected by it. Once he bragged into her room, taking sight of her doodling on her hand with a ballpoint pen.

"Yo, we've got a case going on here!" he exclaimed in a whisper while plopping into her bed next to her.

"I know; I saw the dog tag too. This can't go on. I've seen that he has had past habits of casting things aside for power!" she whispered back, remembering the images she saw of Riku's past when they shook hands.

"Are you serious? We've got to stop this then!" he stated, venom seeping into his voice. Sure, Will was always teasing Grace, but behind her back, he was increasing overprotective.

"Okay, but we need a plan," Lu Lu Laura's voice drifted off as they both sat there in silence to try and think of something that would sever the bonds that Grace and Riku were forming. It felt as if an hour passed and Will was becoming anxious as he watched Lu Lu's eyebrow furrow together in thought.

"What are you thinking?" he asked as in leaned in closer so she could whisper it in his ears.

"I was thinking that bologna is spelled weird. Why don't they just spell it the way it sounds?" she stated as she watched Will's expression become tiresome and annoyed.

"What… the… hell… I meant about how to stop Riku and Grace!" he whispered harshly while whacking Lu's head with a nearby pillow.

"Ohhhhh!" she exclaimed while pretending to put on her thinking cap, "Okay, let's get cracking!"


	3. Chapter 3

Soon Wednesday had come rushing by and Riku and Grace hadn't seen one another since Sunday, which Lu Lu and Will were very happy for since they had yet to come up with an ingenious plan. Though what they didn't know was that Riku would call Grace every night where they would ask each other questions and… _bond_. So far Grace found out about Riku's friends, his secret love of show tunes, and some of his childhood while he discovered things about her childhood, taste in music, and her old school. Though Grace's mind would often float to the silver haired beauty, she'd always switch tracks back to work, which was what she was trying to do now.

"Hey, take these drinks to table 6, please? I need to get some orders down before people start bitching. I can sense hostility coming soon," Lu Lu Laura stated while shoving three glasses of who-knows-what in Grace's small pale hands as she stumbled towards said table. Her parents' restaurant had changed since their first day they bought it. Instead of the deli they had so desperately wanted to add, they ended up creating a family pub. In the corner of the semi-large pub, they had a small stage with a drum set, guitars, mike stands, and speakers as decorations.

"Here you go, enjoy," Grace spoke softly, not making eye contact with the people at the table.

"Oh, you bet I'll enjoy!" a young male voice exclaimed in a cocky tone as he grabbed her rump causing her to turn abruptly and glare at the male at the table with his blond hair gelled back and his cloudy green eyes looking back at her in lust. She then turned on her heel finding it unnecessary to make a scene and strode up to one of the tables in her section.

"Hi, welcome to Isle of Paradise. What would you like to drink?" she asked in a fake cheery voice, while still not making eye contact with the costumers and staring down at her little notepad like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"I'll take a coke," a very familiar voice stated as she looked past her notepad to come eye to eye with Riku, who was currently smirking widely at her shocked expression. She quickly snapped out her daze when the spiky brown haired boy and red-haired girl began to give their drink orders to her causing Grace's pale cheeks to turn a bright pink as she jotted them down and left the table as quickly as possible.

"Hey, so how'd asking her out go anyway?" Sora asked with a grin. Yes, Riku had been avoiding the topic for days, but he made the wrong decision in going to this restaurant even if his main goal of seeing her again was a success, his ideas of avoiding the subject of their relationship had failed.

"Well… uhhh…" Sora raised an eyebrow as he watched his best friend stumbled over words in attempts to string together an excuse.

"So that's a no?" Kairi pulled out her sympathetic face while Sora patted Riku's back, waiting for the disappointed look on their friends face only to be met with a small smile instead.

"Not exactly," he sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "She has to have the approval of her friends before she can make a decision."

"That sounds—"

"Here are your drinks! Are you ready to order?" Grace asked as she handed out the cups of ice-cold liquid and pulled out her little notepad. Once she took down their orders, she quickly shuffled her feet away. Riku watched her retreating form only to see a blonde male smack Grace's backside and pull her close. The petite girl's face was filled with fear and disgust.

"Let me go," Grace quietly spoke, but the venom in her voice was evident. The boy only smirked and tightened his grip. Just then, Riku ripped the male away from her and was about to land a punch straight into the guy's crooked teeth, but it seemed everything around him began to slow down and stop completely.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Think about how a little fight would affect Grace's parent's business. That would make your little friend here upset, wouldn't it?" a voice soundly dangerously close to Lu Lu's whispered into his ear. Just then time sped up again.

"Hey, what is your problem man!?" the blondey asked defensively. Riku whipped his head around to only to see Laura across the room doing that hand gesture that says "I'm watching you" and then he met Grace's panicky bright blue eyes.

"Nothing," he spoke with a sigh as he watched the boy pay for his meal and leave, and then went back over to his table. Grace went fluttered back over to the kitchen area where Lu Lu Laura was, still having a mini panic attack over what had just happened.

"Told you I sensed hostility," she said as she found a little opening of the beginnings of a plan, "Pretty frightening to see Riku that angry?"

"H-he didn't do anything. He just wanted to protect me!" she quietly defended him when in the back of her mind she could see different ways that could have turned out badly. Laura smirked as she felt the feeling of dread wash over Grace, knowing she only need a bit more to start up a full out plan.

xXx

Will and Grace had finished their Thursday afternoon shift and now had the rest of the day off… with nothing to do and an abundance of energy from becoming deliriously tired. Both were lounged on the hardwood floor of the Kitchen after arguing on whether or not the phrase "that's what she said" would lose it's touch after a couple of years, when all the sudden Will shot up into the sitting position.

"Let's find a playground!"

"OKAY!"

And with that they skipped out of the house, walking silently down the street… The silence would not last long…

"To days of inspiration, playing hooky, making something out of nothing, the need to express to—" Grace began to sing as she danced slightly down the sidewalk.

"Communicate, to going against the grain, going insane, going maaadddd," Now both were singing and dancing only to be interrupted by the occasional drunken giggle, "To loving tension, no pension, to more then one dimension, to starving for attention, hating convention, hating pretension, not to mention of course, hating dear old mom and daaaaadddddd!

"To riding your bike midday past the three piece suits—to fruits—to no absolutes—to absolute—to choice—to the village voice—to any passing fad! To being an us, for once, instead of a them! La Vie Boheme!" Their voices rang into the streets as they boogied their way further down the sidewalk.

Meanwhile a few blocks away, Riku and his two amigos were relaxing on his porch with nothing to do. They mainly sat in silence as they tried to come up with something to make their day, only to notice that Sora and Kairi were more interested in gazing into eachother's eyes then coming up with a plan anytime soon. Riku sighed as he realized he was now a permanent third wheel. Just then they heard perfectly harmonized voices in the distance only to realize they were of Will and Grace. The trio was amazed by how the two teens' voices, who were stumbling and dancing down the street, blended perfectly together, like they belonged together. This thought gave Riku a jab of jealousy as he watched them in envy… that was till he heard the words they were singing…

"Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion, creation, vacation, MUCHO MASTURBATION!" they shouted the last part as both did a sexual motion involving some pelvic thrusting, "Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new, to Sontag, to Sondheim, to anything taboo!" They then began to continue dancing oblivious to the three pairs of eyes that were watching them and finally got to their favorite part of the song coming up.

"Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow to blow off Auntie Em! La Vie Boheme! 'Sisters?' We're close!," they sang as Grace slapped Will's backside causing them both to set off in giggles and then skipped, posed, and shouted "Brothers".

Once this occurred they were directly in front of Riku's house, trying to hold back giggles for two different reasons. Grace's reason was because when they had posed, they had actually stopped a car; the driver watched them with wild eyes. Will's reason was because he had seen the heroic trio staring at them, innocent eyes wide with fear. Both turned and smiled at each other, as they wanted to end their favorite song.

"Bisexuals, trisexuals, homo sapiens, carcinogens, hallucinogens, men, Pee Wee Herman," they began to dance around each other unskillfully, "German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein, Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa, Carmina, Burana. To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy—" Grace stopped mid song as soon as she made eye contact with Riku's terrified aqua eyes. Sadly, Will had not caught on to this, since he continued singing and thrusted the air as he reached the words "Sex Pistols". Thankfully, he caught on shortly after that, but that didn't stop him from spilling out drunken giggles and leaning up against Grace for support causing her to fall over.

"Are you guys high?" Sora asked as he watched the two struggle to get up.

"Psh, yeah! High off of life!" Will chuckled with glee as he listened to Grace's statement and watched Sora's eyebrows rise above his hairline.

"This is what you get when you mix a paranoid insomniac and a dyslectic schizophrenic together!" Will exclaimed as he hugged Grace tightly and took notice of Riku's envious look. "And to think, we're not the druggies of the group," Will muttered to Grace as she chuckled lightly yet nervously.

"What were you guys singing anyway?" Kairi asked, finally happy to be out of boredom.

"La Vie Boheme from RENT!" she exclaimed as she gasped and turned abruptly to Will, "OH YEAH! I forgot that I found all my missing DVD musicals!"

"We should have a movie night tomorrow!" He suggested energetically as they both jumped into the air and high-fived.

"You guy can come too! OHMYGODWECOULDHAVEASLEEPOVER!" she shouted childishly, her sleep deprived mind not fully excepting how badly that idea could fail, but that didn't stop Sora and Kairi to agreeing with the hyped up shorty.

"What were you guys doing anyway?" Riku asked after chuckling at Grace's adorable behavior.

"We were looking for a playground," Will and Grace answered at the same time then broke out into giggles.

"We could join you guys and show you the way, if you don't mind," Sora suggested, happy to have something to do with his day.

"SURE!" Grace answered before Will could reject the idea. The group then went off in the direction of the playground. What could possibly go wrong?


	4. Chapter 4

"God, it's bright out!" Will exclaimed dramatically as he used his hand to block out the sun's rays from his face.

"Where!?" Grace yelled, still on a sleep deprived energy kick, as she whipped her head upwards and looked directly into the sun, "Owy!"

"Nooo! Don't look directly into the sun, it'll singe your albino skin!" he shouted while he used his toned body as a human shield against the sun. Riku continued to glare at the giddy pair of friends, trying to repress the feeling of jealousy.

After walking in silence (minus the giggling duo), they finally reached the playground. An air of competitiveness rose within the males, as they all stopped in their tracks and sized each other up quickly. Grace let out a sigh as she could see what was about to happen. Kairi, not so much. She was too busy checking out Sora.

"Let's race," Will and Riku simultaneously stated in a calm manner only to end up glaring daggers at one another.

"Fiiine, but no cheating!" Grace muttered as she pulled up her long, stripped black and white sleeves from her boat neckline shirt, adjusted her mid-thigh length, black skort, and made sure her clunky, black boots were strapped on tightly. She didn't have to worry about her messenger bag since Will made her leave it home. Kairi nodded her head in agreement with the pale teen as she walked to the side and explained that the finish line was located at the swing set, like she had down this many times before.

"Ready, set, GO!" with that, the four sped forward and Will and Riku were in the lead with Sora and Grace not far behind.

Riku and Will were running faster and faster as if consumed by the idea of manly competition. While they were neck and neck, both turned their heads to glare at one another, unaware of what was going on around them. All four were now about to tie till Grace used all her energy to boost her speed and win the race. The males all looked at her in somewhat shock as Grace stood there in silence, still taking it all in.

"I WON, BITCHES! HAHA! FINALLY! WHAT NOW, WILL!? I BEAT YOU!" she finally shouted at the top of her lungs after about a minute or two and then plopped into one of the swings, a gleeful smile plastered on her features. The teenagers that were milling around in the background all looked at her as if she had a third head and started making snide comments about her the minute Will sat next to her after ruffling her cinnamon colored hair.

It seemed in the restaurant that Will had gained the affection of many teenager girls and the envy of many males because of his model-like looks and humorous personality. He'd even been asked out on several occasions and it was only his first week at the restaurant! Of course, he rejected every single female. This did not help Grace at all since every girl automatically thought Will and Grace were going out. This caused much mocking and many rumors from begrudged teens.

Unfortunately, Grace could hear every comment coming from those lipped glossed teens and pimple faced males. She was use to these things, but the fact that she had just gotten to this sunny town had made her realize how hard her senior year would be. This train of thought caused her to fidget in the swing and stare awkwardly at the ground while thousands of terrible scenerios ran through her mind. Riku took notice of the small girl's discomfort and began to get up to tell the teens off.

"Don't," Grace voice was barely above a whisper as she begged the silver chap, still staring at the mulched ground. She then turned and shared a secret smile with Will, who began to swing higher and higher on the swing set. Both shared another glance as they both mentally heard the beginning instrumental of "Touch Me" by Spring Awakening play loudly in their mind.

"Where I go, when I go there, no more memory anymore. Only men on distant ships; the women with them, swimming with them to shore. Where I go, when I go there, no more whispering anymore. Only hymns upon your lips; a mystic wisdom, rising with them to shore," emotion ran through Will's voice as he sang out the lyrics while Grace sang the background softly. This was a song that Will had taught Lucy, Grace, and Sue. He taught song harmonies, and instruments as a way to practice for becoming a music teacher in the later future.

"Oh, my god, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, my god, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Touch me… Touch me…" they harmonized perfectly together as they both stopped swinging and traced they slender figures up and down gently with their fingertips and ran their hands through their hair in attempts to possibly creep out the people watching around them.

Riku watched in bewilderment as the teens around them began shuffling out one by one with frightened expressions permanently wielded onto their faces. He never expected those two to even be able to scare people with the power of show tunes.

"Where I go, when I go there, no more weeping anymore—only in and out your lips. The broken wishes, washing with them to shore…" just then Will gripped the left chain of Grace's swing and pulled her closer to him. Their faces were only inches apart.

"Touch me— all silent. Tell me—please – all is forgiven. Consume my wine. Consume my mind. I'll tell you how, how the winds sigh," both harmonized perfectly as they gazed into each other's eyes – no lust or passion shown in either, just the love between two best friends. Riku noticed that lack of passion, but it did not stop his jealousy. Just before the next part was vocalized, Will pushed Grace's swing to the left, now fully getting into the song. Of course with Grace not being graceful (ha ha pun intended), she jumped out of the swing and began to fall backwards only to be caught by Riku. He held her in his strong arms and took in her lavender-vanilla scent, while she took in his ocean scent. She continued singing the background, as she looked deep within his aqua eyes, knowing if she did stop, Will would notice and pull her out of Riku's arms. She wasn't ready for that just yet…

"Touch me just like that. Now we'll wonder down where the sins cry. Love me just for a bit. We'll wander down where the winds sigh," Grace's pale cheeks soon turned a bright pink as the words poured from her mouth and she realized how seemingly awkward this was turning, but she was unable to move—paralyzed by his beauty.

Sora chuckled in the background as he watched the two in each other's arms, eyes full of longing, and broad smiles across their faces. The song was of course over by now, but both didn't want to move. Will was completely oblivious of Grace since he was trying to repress the fright of the _creatures_ he saw by the chain-link fence.

"Well, aren't you two just like Romeo and Juliet," Sora commented with a chuckle as Kairi nudged him. Grace's eyes soon became alert as she quickly vanished from Riku's arms and appeared in the swing next to Will before he could even notice. Once Will did snap out of it, he took in Sora's comment, thinking it was about him and Grace, and sighed disappointedly.

"You know Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, right?" he spoke, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"Yeah, they were pretty much dumb asses," Grace spoke quietly while staring at the ground, "I'd never want to end up like Juliet… the stupid girl."

"Hmmm… well, if it's idiocy you're speaking of then maybe your more like Juliet then I thought," Will joked as he smiled a wicked smile. Grace huffed and glared at Will. This only caused him to laugh, just then a boy on a dirt bike drove by and flipped up his middle finger at the group and rode off. Of course, Will's reaction was waving back at the tan brunette in a friendly manner as he disappeared from his sight range.

"Do you know him?" Grace asked curiously, sleep coating her voice now as her energy kick was now wearing off.

"Actually, no," this was followed by some giggles from the two, "It's weird. I think I'm always nice to people who are dicks to me."

"Wait, but you're always mean to me! What does that mean then!?" Grace asked now shouting slightly in mock anger, trying to cover up the dizziness she was feeling. Will was about to say, "It's because you're albino" as a joke but the sight of Riku's glaring gave him a brilliant idea.

"Well, it's cause I love you, Grace," he really did mean it, but he only loved her as a friend. They both knew it, but Will knew it would tear the silver-haired punk inside out.

The black-haired boy was right with his assumption since Riku felt his own heart crack slightly in sadness, expecting her to agree and confess her love… Boy, was he wrong.

"HAH! I KNEW IT! ALL THOSE TIMES YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T LOVE ME WAS A LIE! SUCK MAN!" Grace exclaimed tiredly as she hopped out of the swing and pointed her pale index finger in his face. Her body swayed slightly as she yawned. She closed her ice blue eyes, breathed in slowly, and fell right onto Will's lap.

"Tehe," he giggled as he thought of how perverse this looked to everyone else, but instead of making moaning noises like he planned, he took her bridal style in his muscular, tan arms and began to walk home.

"I-is she ok?" Riku asked, fear capturing every word as he looked over at her small form. She looked so fragile in that one moment. Will scoffed at the boy's attempt of compassion.

"She's fine. It just the three days of no sleep catching up with her," he replied in an annoyed voice and looked down at Grace's figure curling up against him and smiled.

"R-riku?" she murmured sleepily making Will's smile fall into a frown, "Don't forget 'bout tomorrow."

"You're still awake, aren't you?" Will thought to himself as he looked over to see Riku's stupid, cocky smiling face agree to his best friend's wishes. "There's no way this boy is winning her heart… at least, not while I'm here," he thought icily while he trudged home, the sun setting in the distance and the excitement from his new plan bubbling up inside him.


	5. Chapter 5

Friday came very swiftly and Sally and Grace were getting ready for their new friends to come by. Grace was hunting throughout her bedroom, looking for her DVDs that she had found during the move, while Sally was cooking up an early dinner for every one. Once Grace peered underneath the black cover of her bed she found her glorious musical movies and raced downstairs to show Sally.

The kitchen was a nice medium size with bright, peach colored walls and had pale brown cabinets and island. The smell of hot dogs and French fries filled the atmosphere as Grace slid onto the hardwood floor thanks to her slippery white socks. Sally, who was only in her blue shirt with a large cartoon shark saying "AHHH", her favorite skinny jeans, and a pair of blue leg warmers, took in the fact of what looked like much effort in Grace's outfit and smiled warmly.

"Someone wanted to look good for a special someone!" Sally exclaimed in a singsong voice.

The small, pale girl looked down at her black and white plaid shirt, black skinny jeans, black and white studded belt that was only looped on one of the loops and was being used as a butt belt, her black dog collar, and a black and white studded bangle. She shook her head in response even though her memory was replaying her franticly going through five different outfits before picking that one, but instead of admitting it, she slunk over to her friend's side and watched her put some soon-to-be-french-fries into a mini deep fryer.

"How did you get a fryer?" Grace's small voice asked as she watched her friend cook. (Grace wasn't good in the kitchen… at all) Sally just turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow.

"… It's your deep fryer…" she stated in a matter-of-fact tone as Grace's eye widen in surprise.

"Since when do I own a deep fryer?" she asked more herself then anyone else while Sally chuckled at her friend's reaction.

"Wow, Agent 69, just wooow," she teased as she bumped hips with her causing little Gracey to fall to the floor and an insane fit of laughter escape her lips.

Meanwhile, Will and Lu Lu Laura hid in Laura's room with no light shone through the curtain-covered window. It was like a black hole for sleep dwellers.

"Okay, I like your plan, but I think we need to add to it. You know, make sure there's nothing slipping through the cracks," Laura stated, as she rubbed in her hands together slowly, "we need to break Riku. Simple as that."

"Sounds cold and callus, but that's what causes me to fall in love with our combined plan," Will stated with a smirk on his face. The two exited the room to start their plan since their new "friends" would show up very soon.

In the mean time, Grace was setting up the television in the large living room. It was quite homey thanks to the warm red colored walls, the two comfortable beige couches on either end of the fire place at the back of the room, and the fluffy beige carpeting. While she was hooking up her DVD player to the television, Will was checking to see if anyone was coming towards the house. He snickered slightly as he slinked away from the front door and over to his small friend. Since she wasn't paying attention, the minute he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, she squeaked loudly. Once she looked up and saw his face, she turned herself to face him and hugged back.

"I'LL GET IT!" Laura shouted as the doorbell rang. Of course, Grace got excited and began to walk away only to trip over her own two feet. She expected to meet the floor but instead Will caught her and kept her in his arms, long enough for a certain someone to walk in. Riku was taken aback at the scene of Will and Grace in each others arms, their faces only inches apart as they looked deep into each others eyes. It was like a picture out of one of those romance movies.

Grace looked up from her position to meet with those aqua eyes she loved so much. She could even feel her heart skip a beat. This feeling she got from him was like no other she ever felt before, but when she caught the sad, hated look in his eyes, she felt herself doubting that he would ever feel the same about her. Her mind rushed with negative thoughts about what he was possibly thinking about her, but she pushed it all to the back of her mind.

"Hi there," she stated with a smile as she wriggled out of Will's arms and gave Riku a hug.

Sora and Kairi shuffled in behind their best friend and smiled at the scene. That's when they got to meet two new people. Sally, in a bouncy sprite-like manner, skipped in and gave them both a hug.

"Hey, what's up? And don't say the sky! I've heard that joke too much!" Sally exclaims, "Oh, and I'm Sally!"

"Nice to meet you!" Both Sora and Kairi exclaimed simultaneously as they looked into each other's eyes and shared a smile.

"I'm Lauren, but you can call me Laura," Lu Lu Laura stated in a matter-of-fact as she pushed her way in front of the two and put her hand out for them to shake.

When Sora's hand made contact with Laura, it was like she was hit with a mental brick wall. Unlike all the other times she's made physical contact and seen someone's past, it was only a short memory—nothing more. Yet at this moment, she saw images of Sora, some dog-like figure, and a duck traveling from world to world. No image stuck for long though. Then another wave of two different live passed through her mind at light speed. She saw men in black coats, some girl who took on Sora's face at the very end of this mental slide show.

The group watched in amazement as Laura's purple eyes glazed over, looking at the ground, and her face contorted in some sort of concentration. After a minute passed, her eyes snapped up and she stumbled backwards onto the ground, her head now in her hands. Will and Grace ran to her side while Sally stayed back to make sure she didn't feel claustrophobic.

Laura took in deep breaths and finally made eye contact with Sora. She wanted some answers. Of course, with these answers she'd be able to figure out a nice way to break Riku.

"Why do you wield the key blade and why do you have three different sets of memories?" her voice was strained slightly as she stood up and wiped the sweat from her brow. Will and Grace stayed by her side just in case she lost her balance. They knew that when things like this happened; it drained Laura of most of her energy.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku basically all looked like fish out of water. They all had the same thought: "How the HELL did she get that idea?"

"W-what's a key blade?" Grace asked. She had no idea what a key blade was, but if memories had hurt her friend that badly, then it must be terrifying.

"It's this," and with that, Sora summoned his weapon right into his hand. It looked as if Grace's eyes had popped out of their sockets.

"Explain," the four friends all said at once. This started the story telling. Sora told of his adventures and purpose. He never mentioned Riku's path to darkness and Laura did indeed notice, thanks to the part of his past that she saw.

"Riku, why so quiet? You were a part of this story too," her voice sounded almost haunting as it reached Riku's ears. He gulped quietly as he met the stare coming from Grace's big ice blue eyes.

"Uhmm, why don't we have some dinner first? I don't want it getting cold now," Sally stated in a rushed tone, trying to save Riku from an explanation for time being.

They all walked into the kitchen and grabbed food. Sora grabbed two helpings, but as Kairi made a joke about his appetite, no one laughed. Tension and nervousness was in the air.

Of course, the conversation was sidetracked, thanks to Sally, Sora, and Riku. Lu Lu didn't care if the conversation topic got away. She could feel Riku's guilt and Grace's fear and anxiety. Her work was done for the moment, so she felt she was free to take a small break.

"Sooo what's your school like? I wanna know that Gracey is going to a good school!" she exclaimed as she sent one of her brilliant smiles across the table, which were always infectious.

"It's pretty good," Riku stated uncharacteristically quiet as he felt Lu Lu's heated stares and Grace's curiosity on him. His guilt now felt as if it was consuming his whole being, making him wish he could hide from his new friends at the moment.

"Yeah, we've got sports team, a drama club, a technology club, the works!" he exclaimed to Sally and then turned to Grace, "You're gonna like it here."

"Well, at least you get away from !" Will exclaimed. Normally he would have tried and made Riku out to be a bad guy like he planned, but he also didn't want Grace to feel sad.

"Oh god, Hell week was like the worst thing to ever experience!" Sally exclaimed as she remembered the drama that happened while she was on stage crew one year.

"Psh, she's just all around weird, like the time she tried to find me a boy friend! I remember she pulled out her attendance sheet for her chorus classes, closed her eyes, and pointed to a name, saying 'he isn't so bad, right?'" Laura wriggled her nose at the disgusting thought of the bitter old women trying to help her romantic situation.

"Yeah… I still remember when she asked if I was depressed! That was sooo fricking creepy!" Grace joined in to the conversation with Riku's lack of story still in her thoughts.

"But, you were depressed, Grace…" Laura stated with a sad smile. She could still remember the day she first met her. The memories she saw when she shook that girl's hand. It was something she never wanted her friend to experience again.

"No, I wasn't!" she snapped at her friend. The three guests exchanged glances as they watched her sudden outburst.

"It's understandable though… after what had happened—" this time Sally stepped in.

"I wasn't depressed," her voice was dangerously low now. Her eyes reflected sadness.

"Anyone wanna watch RENT?" Will intervened. He knew that look in his friend's face. He absolutely hated it.

The group agreed and went into the living room with food in hand. Everyone shrugged off Grace's behavior… well, everyone except Riku. His curiosity only increased. What could have possibly happened to such a quiet girl?


	6. Chapter 6

The movie was popped into the DVD player as Sally, Lu Lu, Kairi, and Sora spread out on the couches that were on opposite sides of the television while Grace plopped on the ground between Will and Riku. Both males seemed to slide over just a bit closer to the small girl and made eye contact with each other.

"Suck it." Will mouthed to Riku as he grabbed hold of Grace's hand, something they were both use to.

Riku's brows knitted together in confusion but soon he felt that familiar stab of jealousy when she saw the bright smile on the small girl's face. It was then that he decided to make his move. He pretended to yawn and then placed his right arm around her shoulders in an oh-so-clever manner. Grace's musical, soft laughter filled the room as the intro song to RENT was playing in the background. Lu Lu scoffed in the background mumbling to Sally, while Kairi gushed on to Sora about who knows what (probably about Riku and Grace or her and Sora. No one's really paying attention).

"You really think you're that cool?" Grace said as she tilted her head upward to face him, her breath trickling on his neck causing him to shiver slightly.

"You better believe I'm that cool!" he teased as he gave her a slight squeeze. Nothing could wipe the smile away from his face now as he leaned his head against hers and listened to Grace's voice sing along with the songs in the movie. Well, at least he thought nothing would.

"Grace! Grace! It's our favorite song to do together! Come on!" Will exclaimed as he jumped up and ripped Grace from Riku's clutches making the smile die off his face.

"Okay, okay," Grace mumbled as they began singing along with the scene and acting it out exactly as the screen did. Of course, Riku wasn't watching the screen, but instead his pale little crush… maybe more then a crush? Naw, Riku was too masculine, too cool, too savvy, too much of a loner. Psh, he wishes.

They performed bits of the tango across the living room as they acted out bits of the song on the screen. It seemed like they were almost gliding across the floor focused on each other, when in reality Will was leading and guiding the whole time. He couldn't even wipe off the victorious smile off his face, which Grace was oblivious to.

Surprisingly even though she should have been paying attention to what they were doing, she couldn't get her mind off of Riku and his possible past. It couldn't be bad, right? He seemed like such a good guy…

"When you're dancing her dance, you don't stand a chance. Her grip of romance makes you fal—" It was at that point that they tangoed themselves into a wall and fell to the ground. Laughter filled the room, when Will saw Grace's cute and confused expression of her trying to figure out how she ended up on the ground.

The night continued on with sing-a-longs and random dancing, but everyone was basically dead to the world after watching RENT, Moulin Rouge, and Edward Scissorhands. Well, almost everyone.

Grace would have been up in her room drawing if it weren't for Riku's death hold worthy cuddling and the fact that Will had his arms and legs wrapped securely around her. Yes, Will was actually sleeping for once, but his dreams did not sound peaceful in the least. He whimpered occasionally along with slight twitching.

"You know, everyone deserves sleep once in a blue moon. Heh, that's a fun term," Lu Lu voiced whispered into the darkness as she untangled herself from Sally and crawled over to Grace's laying form. She placed her tan hand on Grace's cool forehead and chanted words of peace and relaxation over and over till she could feel Grace slowly lose consciousness.

"There, that's better!" she murmured as she looked over at Riku's slightly snoring form and chuckled evilly.

xXx

"_Honey, don't worry. We'll come and get you as soon as everything is secure," Grace's mother, Angela, told her sixteen year-old daughter who was shaking slightly with fear. Angela looked to her husband, Cal, who looked as petrified as his little teenage girl._

"_Just watch over your Grandmother while we're gone," Cal's voice slightly quivered as he feared the worse for his family, but attempted a smile. _

_With their last farewell's in order, Angela locked the door the steal doors to their cellar basement and stole a kiss from her husband for good luck. This family's obstacle was the heartless. _

_They had been living in Hollow Bastion for two years now even though it was not their home planet. Sadly, they lived on the opposite side of where Leon's gang was going through redevelopment. Heartless were more powerful and merciless due to the mass loss of people from the darkness on that side of the world. _

_Angela and Cal found no other way to protect their family then to fight back against the dark so they were joining the group of survivors to rebel against the thousands that opposed them._

_Meanwhile, back in the basement, Grace sat in the corner hugging her knees to her chest, her black messenger bag barely a centimeter away from her. The black and white long sleeve shirt and the grey jeans that practically hung loosely around her slim body were practically in tatters from the previous attacks. All her worries were on her family though. What if they didn't survive? What would become of her and her grandma? She surely couldn't take care of the both of them._

"_Shhh, child. Everything is going to be fine," her grandma, Fallon, cooed as she hobbled her way over to the shivering, pale girl._

"_B-but what if it isn't? You've seen those things! They could – They could—" the words could not come out of Grace's mouth thanks to the lump in her throat. Her grandma slid down next to her and took the child in her arms._

"_It won't. Many things happen for a reason, Honey. If it was meant to happen, it would happen. There are too many reasons to keep your parents alive. Believe in that," Fallon murmured in Grace's cinnamon red hair, "We'll make it back home someday."_

_Silence was they both could hear as they continued to take comfort in their embrace. It only lasted for so long though._

_A dark orb formed in the opposite corner of the room causing Grace to slid further back into her Grandma's arms. It was then that an Armored Heartless came out of it's black portal and staggered forward. The monster's bright yellow eyes made contact with Grace's panicked blue ones. _

"_That's strange… these guys normally come in groups," Fallon mumbled under her breath as her eyes scanned the slightly dark, and slightly empty basement for a weapon, or anything. The creature charged forward at Grace, who automatically clamped her eyes shut._

_Everything happened in a flash. Fallon pushed her Granddaughter out of the heartless's range. Grace flew two feet away as she caught sight of the creature sending it's bladed arm into her grandma's chest. Blood splattered on Grace and the rest of the surroundings as a crystallized heart materialized above Fallon and soon disappeared. _

_Grace's breathing became shallow and her heart began to race a mile a minute as rage poured throw out her entire being as her grandma's last piece of advice rang through her skull. How was this meant to happen? Weren't there enough reasons for her to live? … Why did she have to save her?_

_The heartless turned to face Grace as it slowly moved in on the shaking, hyperventilating girl. Sweat seeped from her skin as she was beginning to feel a strong dizziness. She looked the murderous being in the eyes and could have sworn it smiled._

_Something inside her snapped when she saw that smile. She grabbed a sturdy rake from the corner of the basement and slammed into the heartless repeatedly. Sure, it wasn't the strongest attack and it led to some wounds being afflicted on her, but the heartless finally retreated. _

_She looked over at the corpse in the basement and shakily took small steps over to her. Why hadn't her body disappear and turned into a heartless like most of her other relatives' death that she had witnessed? Was Fallon's heart not strong enough? Grace shook her Grandma's body hoping that this was all a trick and that Fallon was playing a game. It was also in that moment when she saw how brittle with age her grandma actually was._

_Three days had passed and Angela and Cal came back to the steel basement door after a long grueling battle. Many had died but it was able to push back the heartless long enough to try and evacuate the remaining people. _

_As they opened the door, a horrid stench of death flew into their nostrils. Both exchanged looks of terror as they rushed into the room only to find an unforeseen atmosphere. Grace was clutching a rake to keep her sitting upwards in front of her grandma's body, her message bag was on her front like an attempt for protection, blood was marked everywhere, and her eyes seemed fearfully blank._

_The setting turned dark as now it was just Grace in the pitch-black void. She had no idea how long she had been there. Now she was her eighteen year-old self, no blood, and no weapons around. She did not dare walk only in fear of what could be lurking. Just out of thin air, two people appeared a few feet away from her._

_The small girl blinked her eyes as she soon recognized the two figures. They were Fallon and her horrid aunt, Mimi, who had been swallowed by the darkness._

"_Hello, brat. Oh how I've missed you so," Mimi spoke flatly as she pushed past Fallon, who stood there unmoving. Grace didn't dare speak for the lump had returned to her throat._

"_Aw, no conversation? Oh well!" she ended her sentence with a snap of her fingers and disappeared in a dark portal, but as she did this thousand of nobodies appeared around Grace. "See you soon" _

xXx

Grace's eyes snapped opened from her dream, but that did not stop the tears that were streaming done her face. She normally had that dream of her grandma's final hours. Fallon was like a hero to her, someone she cared for deeply. The minute she died, a part of Grace did too, or at least she thought it did. Once she met her friends, they made her feel alive again. Yet, the end of that dream with her aunt had never happened before. It felt so real…

She tilted her head upward to check the digital clock on the DVD player. Her eyes widen as she saw that she had slept a decent amount of time for once. Riku and Will still were in the same position as last time, but there was only one difference, one that Grace could _feel_ clearly now.

"Guys, get your morning wood away from me!" Grace stated loudly, waking up everyone in the room.

**Author's Note:**

Yes, I actually put one of these up. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed writing this chapter. Sure, I had writer's block through the beginning, but this is really going to turn out nicely… hopefully. All I ask is for people to give me some ideas or like a review or something. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Check my profile for updates in my work and such. I'm thinking of writing profile for my OCs on my profile, but I'm not sure yet. Bye!


	7. Chapter 7

Riku and Will sat in an upright position automatically as they attempted to cover the "disturbance". Both boys couldn't even make eye contact with the small girl. The main thought on Riku's mind was if he'd just scared Grace away. Well, it _was_ his main concern till he heard Grace's musical laughter filled the room.

Lulu couldn't wipe the smirk off her face as she watched her little prank ensue, but it was then she noticed Grace's tear stained face.

"What's so funny?" Riku asked as he raised an eyebrow at Gracey's antics and finally turned to look her in her bloodshot eyes.

"Y-you," she gasped as now tears of laughter replaced her tears of depression. Now it seemed everyone except Riku was laughing about... _something?_

"What's so funny?" he thought to himself as he looked down at himself causing his eyes to widen in surprise. He had a strapless, pink bra on, a black mini skirt on top of his jeans, and from what he could tell, his nails were painted pink. After his discovery, he jetted to the bathroom to look at his reflection.

"Holy shit..." he murmured as he took notice of his now braided silver hair, and the excessive amount of pink whorish make-up he had caked onto his face.

"Lulu..." Sally sighed as she glared at her best friend. The purple eyed girl's grin just grew.

"Yes slut?" she joked as she received a punch in the shoulder, "jeez, can't take a joke?"

Grace had left the room, while the insanity in the living room continued, and went over to look for Riku. Okay, that's a lie. She went to get her camera first.

As Riku tried to futilely rub the crap off his face with the back of his hand, there was a knock at the door. Without thinking he opened the door only to be welcomed by a bright flash and a chuckle. After blinking away the spots now in his vision, he looked down to see a large pair of ice blue eyes that simply took his breathe away the minute he looked at her.

"That's not very nice," he teased once he regained proper breathing patterns.

"I never said I was a nice person," she stated darkly but then plastered a quick smile to her features, "but I do come bearing gifts." With that she pulled a tiny bag of make-up wipes from her back pocket.

She grinned at his grateful expression as she hopped her but onto the counter of the bathroom sink to make herself the same height as him. Her pale hand gripped the back of his neck slightly and pulled him closer so she could clean him up.

There was a thick cloud of silence for different reasons as Grace pulled apart the thick braids that Lulu created. Riku concerned with Grace, while Grace was ignoring the sparks she felt whenever she made contact with him.

"Are you okay?" Riku broke the silence causing Grace to sigh slightly.

"Hmm... I guess you could say that. I am curious though," she murmured quietly as she twitched when she remembered her dream and the exact things that made her want to play detective, "What happened between you and your friends during Sora's adventures?"

"Let's just say I made a few wrong decisions with my life that I'm not entirely proud of," he replied, his eyes glued to his hands. He felt a pair of tiny hands grab his chin and lift his face to make eye contact with the pale girl before him.

"Haven't we all?" she mused as she began to lightly wipe the make-up off him face.

"Well, what's your story?" he question was only met with Grace's confused face, "I mean, why were you crying? Some past event?"

"I've seen too much horror then my life had intended, but then again, life is a perception of your own reality," she smiled as she used a song title in her response (A/N: I highly doubt anyone who reads this will know what the title is... BACK TO STORY!). Riku couldn't help but smile along with her despite the seriousness that surrounded them. The silence spread throughout the small light blue themed bathroom as Grace continued to clean off the make-up.

"It's interesting," Riku murmured as he realized that his face was merely an inch away from her, "the more time I spend with you, the more beauty I can see within a day. It's like I can do and think anything with you here. Maybe, in a way, you're my light in the darkness before me."

Grace felt as if her heart stopped beating completely when she saw the look in his eyes. Those orbs of aquamarine were filled with so much passion it sent shivers down her very spine. Their breath mingled together as they slowly began to move centimeters closer. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, as if it was just the two of them in the world. That is till...

"HEY! WE JUST FOUND OUT THAT THERE'S A MALL NEAR DESTINY ISLAND!" Will shouted as he had no problem pulling Grace out of the bathroom and back into the living room.

"SAY WHAT!?" Grace shouted in excitement as she shuffled the conversation with Riku on the back burner of her brain.

Sora and Kairi smiled playfully. They had never been this entertained due to their dull island life that they became accustomed to. Their new friends seemed to brighten the day.

"There's a mall about half an hour away from here. We were wondering if you'd wanna go there with us!" Kairi exclaimed, happy to deepen the new friendships. Lulu, Grace, Will, and Sally exchanged wicked glance as they all began to laugh.

"What did I just miss?" Riku asked as he entered the room with bits of eyeliner and mascara still showing on his face.

"WILL! We can finally goth you out! AHHHH!!!" Lulu shouted in a hyped up manner.

"YES!" Sally exclaimed happily at the thought of dressing up a guy.

"That doesn't excluded you either Agent 84," Grace murmured as she hugged her friend, who now sighed slightly. She knew the styles that she'd have to put up with. They weren't really her thing.

"Is anyone going to answer my question?" Riku asked more to himself then anyone else.

All heads turned to face him, masks of evil covered each and everyones features. Hell, even Sora and Kairi caught on quickly.

"Anyone wanna see Riri dress in drag?" Grace suggested with a wide smile as she ran over and clung to one of his muscular arms.

"Riri?" Riku questioned the new nickname as Will and Lulu raced up the stairs to get ready while Sally went and made breakfast for everyone. Grace shrugged at his words.

"I just like how the word tastes."

….

…

..

what?


	8. Chapter 8

"What?" Riku asked as he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Nothing. You guys should probably head home real quick so your folks don't think we've kidnapped you or murdered you," Grace murmured as she quietly scratched the back of her head, "Meet us here by 5?"

"Okay," Riku stated with a smile as he kissed the top of her head causing her pale cheeks to become a bright red, "See you then."

As soon as they left, Grace went running into the kitchen only to slide across the kitchen floor and land flat on her back. She let out a soft groan as she vowed herself to never run into the kitchen with only socks on. Sally looked away from her batch of pancake batter and saw a flustered, tiny girl on the floor.

"A good whore spends most of her time on her back," she stated with a cackle as her bright grey eyes met with Grace's glare.

"So mean, Agent 84. I'd like to think I'm more innocent then you," Grace said now that she was standing up and sticking her tongue at Sally.

"Whatever you wanna believe, girrl," she teased as she ruffled the smaller girl's hair, "What happened to the trio?"

"I sent them home so their parents wouldn't sent a search party for them," Grace replied with a grin.

"Oh, don't lie! You probably just wanted to keep Riku safe from the Makeover Twins upstairs!" she exclaimed playfully and chuckled when she saw Grace's face become a light tint of pink. "You know I'm right!"

Grace let her head lower as she roamed through the house and up the stairs. While taking two steps at a time, she heard shouts up from her room.

"LET ME STRAIGHTEN YOU'RE HAIR, LULU!" Will shouted from behind the door.

"BUT I LIKE IT BETTER WHEN I DO IT MYSELF!" she hollered back.

"Hehe, that's what she said," they both said at the same time.

It was at this point Grace found it safe to enter her own room again. As she pushed through the doorway, she saw that Lulu was tied to the desk chair and Will was hovering over her with a straightener in his hands. Just as he heard the door open, his evil, blue eyes were directed right at Grace. She slunk backwards a bit to get ready to run from Will's wrath now that he was inching closer to her.

Five minutes later and Grace was tied to a chair that Will brought into the bedroom. She would have struggled but she knew that he was stronger and faster then she was so there would be no point. He hovered over her as he looked over the hair supplies and make-up that laid casually on the black, metal desk against the white wall of the room.

"Sup?" Lulu asked while popping the "p" in the word. She was still tied to the desk chair across from Grace.

"Just chilling, being held against my will. You know, the norm." It was then a thought occurred to her, "Will, how'd you get this rope anyway?"

His only response was an evil chuckle as he began working on LuLu's hair now that she gave up on struggling. The purple eyed girl could feel Grace's emotions of paranoia as the small teen played her dream over and over again in her mind. She couldn't get over the small change at the end of that nightmare. Did Mimi showing up in her dreams represent a sign of foreboding?

"So what are you thinking? Your emotions are spiraling as we speak," Laura asked now since she didn't want her friend panicking later.

Grace sighed, normally she'd keep these thoughts and waking terrors to herself, but she knew they were there for her. They just wanted to help. She spoke of her short tale. Letting them know every detail she could remember of the top of her head. Both listeners remained uncharacteristically quiet as they heard the story.

"Maybe you're just over thinking it like usually," Will muttered as he continued on with Lulu's hair. He knew she always was paranoid with small details and such.

"Why does she hate you anyway?" Lulu asked in attempts to divulge further into Grace's problem. The small girl attempted to shrug her shoulders against the bindings of the chair, but failed miserably.

"I'm not sure. She's always been twisted with her crude sense of reality," she murmured barely above a whisper as she basked in the silence of the room.

"HEY! PANCAKES ARE DONE!" Sue shouted from down in the kitchen. Will grinned from ear to ear as he dashed out of the room and down the stairs, leaving Grace and LuLu tied to their respective chairs. Lulu with her hair half straightened joined Grace in their evil glare towards the now open bedroom door.

"WILL!!!" they both shouted in unison as the evil laughter from Sue and Will could be heard from the kitchen.

xXx

Five o' clock rolled around and they group stood out on the lawn waiting for the trio to join them. Will had done wonders with all their hair and making creating a smokey eye appearance with their pin straight hair. He gave Grace's a bit of volume and made Lulu's slightly wild. It was amazing what the boy could do with just hair spray.

With Lulu and Grace combined clothing selection, they were able to add style to Will's masterpiece. They gave Sue black skinny jeans with a red short tutu over it and paired it with red and black flannel shirt button half way with a black tank top underneath showing. Will was forced into a pair of black skinny jeans, a white shirt that was barely buttoned up, a pair of converse, and a black fedora. Lulu was donned with a black fringed, purple corp top, and a pair of black tripp pants, the chains glistening in the sunlight. Grace was unwillingly put into a black corset dress that came up to her mid thigh and was trimmed with white lace.

Grace fidgeted slightly in the outfit since she was not use to being in a dress, but her black buckle boots made her calm down about the outfit a tad. She watched as Sue twirled around in her red tutu with glee. Sue always wanted a tutu, and since red was her favorite color, her happiness was overwhelming.

Soon the group saw Riku and the gang coming down the street. The trio looked at them oddly for their fashion, while Lulu twitched when she saw that their would be seven people hanging out together. Seven. A number that haunted her. She was so distracted by her predicament that she didn't even see Riku walk up to the blushing Grace and kiss her forehead yet again.

He took her hand in his and said, "You ready for an interesting day?" She looked up into his captivating eyes and smiled. He had no idea what kind of night they were in for...

"Everyone in the stationwagen!" Sue shouted as she dashed for the front seat in attempts to get a comfortable seat, but Grace was at the same pace as her.

When they both reached the front door, a small squabble ensued. Sue elbowed her friend slightly and attempted to get her into a head lock. Before she could finish her move, Grace tickled her sides and hip-checked Sue to the side to claim the front seat as her prize.

"WHY ARE YOU GUYS MESSING UP YOUR HAIR!? I WORKED SO HARD!" Will shouted as he fake cried over his works of art. "Hmm, I could always fix it in the car..." he mumbled as he got into the driver's seat.

Sure, they had a surplus of people, but with much teenaged determination, everyone fit. As Will started driving Lulu, who sat on Sue's lap, leaned forward and plugged in some of her own music. Soon music blasted from the speakers and Grace's eyes lit up. It was of her favorite band and her most favorite song. The four friends were used to this type of music as they even had their own air band going on right in that instant. Will sang along to the song while Grace and Sue air guitarred and Lulu air drummed.

Sora and Kairi laughed with them and joined in while Riku was too busy taking in Grace as a person. So quiet, yet so wild. Was it even possibly? And then he directed his attention back to his old and new friends partying before they even got to their destination. What type of night was he in for?


	9. Chapter 9

"_Give out, give in_

_If a man's hands show his trade does it suit me then_

_This papercut skin that makes me wince with each hand_

_I'm required to_

_shake, shake, shake, shake"_

They all sang along to "Papercut Skin" by The Matches as Grace, Sally, and Lulu acted it out with little synchronized movements that oddly enough they didn't practice. The group laughed as the small performance continued.

The car ride continued on with amateur performance of alternative rock songs and an accidental game of hide and seek when Will left Sally at the local gas station. Soon the thirty-minute car ride had ended and Will was now parking the car outside the mall. The friends poured out of the station wagon and each took different approaches to entering said mall. Sally and Lulu skipped in together singing about the "funny farm" while Will and Grace walked in arm and arm as they loudly teased and mocked one another. The remaining three decided to casually walk in like normal, societal individuals.

Too bad these people were associating themselves with nonconformists. The group all stood amongst the bustling of busy strangers. Some stopped to look oddly at the four "gothed out" teens while others just ignored them and continued on with their scheduled day. Sally bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as everyone stood there awkwardly like any first time hang out seems to be.

"Soooo, what ya wanna do?" she asked in a hyped manner as she continued her bouncing.

"Well, I wanted to go shopping for a new top at Hollister," Kairi stated to the group as every head pivoted and looked at her with distaste.

"Uhh... I'll go with you babe," Sora stammered slightly as he took her hand in his, "We'll meet up with you guys in a bit!" With that, they were off amongst the crowd of consumers. Riku sighed as he realized that his two best friends ditched him, but then smiled slightly as his eyes met Grace's.

It was then when Lulu decided to lead the pack through the mall. Much discussion was to be had amongst the group, but no one knew where Lulu was leading them till suddenly a scrawny tan boy with bleach blond hair came bounding at top speed towards the group. Riku, while in defense mode, shoved Grace behind him. The boy then leaped right into Lulu's arms, but with her balance, they went rocketing downward.

Perplexed by this new boy, Riku steped forward to examine him. The boy was pretty stick-like as if he needed a cheeseburger really badly. His stripped shirt of black and gray barely fit his torso along with the ripped jeans that hung loosely around his waist. His hair was a messy bleached blonde that went in every direction as if combing hair was not part of this boy's beauty routine. The only good thing that Riku could point out about the boy's appearance was his caramel eyes and his oddly warm smile.

"I thought I'd never see you guys again!" the stranger exclaimed as he tightly hugged Lulu while they were still on the ground. Grace tried to peer over Riku's shoulder, but it only caused her to face plant into his back and tumble to his side where she finally got a good glance at the strange boy.

"Drake?" Little Grace as she sprinted past Riku and hugged her old friend. Riku eyes involuntarily formed into a nice jealous glare long enough for Will to see. A plan formulated as Will pulled Lulu aside.

"Wow, never thought I'd get a hug from the shy cutie," Drake remarked as he grinned at Grace and checked her out quickly. "Mind if I join you guys? My friend Dano disappeared somewhere…" Just then a squeal was heard from behind the group as a dark haired Latino teenaged girl ran up to Drake.

"FOUND YOU!" the strange girl shouted at Drake.

This girl had short black hair in a misshapen bowl cut. Her brown eyes gleamed in the florescent light of the mall. She was a curvy girl. Not to skinny, not too plump. Her ripped skinny jeans complimented her well, but her shirt of a keyblade confused the group.

"You have a keyblade shirt?" Sally asked as she tilted her head to the side. The stranger, Dano, automatically grew shy within the next few seconds and backed away shyly.

"Quit being shy and speak," Drake mumbled as he hit her back slightly. She quickly snapped out of it and shook her head.

"YES!" she replied in a stammer.

The group continued on their little journey through the mall. Drake seemed to be getting dangerously close to Grace. Even though Will seemed more distracted then normal with his disillusions, his plan was beginning to take shape. He took Drake aside from the rest of the group, which didn't seem odd to anyone in the group. It was even a relief to Riku as he moved back into his territory known as Grace.

"Hey, I didn't want to bring this up, but Grace seems really into you. Maybe you should make a move," Will stated with a smirk and a gleam of evildoing in his eyes.

"Really? Man, I was so use to the old, quite Grace that always had that look of fear in her eyes. What changed? To be honest with you, I've always had a bit of a thing for her… You really think I have a chance?"

"Oh I believe sparks will fly…" Will murmured as he glanced over at Riku with joy.

Dano eventually warmed up to the group and was soon singing random lines of Anastasia while acting them out in the middle of the food court. They were careful not to get kicked out though. Don't you worrying, Readers.

Soon Sora and Kairi joined back into the group and that's when… well..

"OH MY GODDDDD!" Dano shrieked as she pointed repeatedly at Sora, "It's you!"

"Uhhh… Yeah, I am me…"

"No, you're the keyblade bearer that did all that heartless bashing and ass kicking!"

"Ohhhhhh, yeah. I'm that cool," he tried stating calmly as he tried doing a cool pose with his hands behind his head. You know, the usual business. Kairi smacked him in the back of the head for his cocky actions though. "Jeez, just trying to get a laugh, Kai"

The rest of the group tried brushing it off as nothing, but Dano just couldn't keep her eyes off the keyblade bearer. She was infatuated and she wanted him to be hers. Sure, she'd never say it, but you could see it in her eyes. No one in the group would notice. Well, maybe Drake, but he seemed to occupied today with his old friends.

xXx

Time had passed and once Sally got kicked out for starting a shrieking karaoke marathon in one of the department stores, the group decided to call it a night. Drake and Dano exchanged numbers with everyone in the group and learned that they did not live far from Grace's new home. As Grace was ready to say goodbye to her new friends, Drake pulled her aside.

"Hey, I know this is short notice and all… but… b-but… I just wanted to tell you something…"

"Okay? What is it?"

"Well… I.. I-I.. Aw, screw it." With that he kissed her. The kiss had no emotion behind it besides Grace's natural panic and disgust, but instead of Drake explaining himself, he just quickly scurried off before Grace could say anything.

…Riku saw the whole thing. He felt his heart break slightly. How could she do this? No… she couldn't have. He'd still fight for her. He'll get her to explain… There had to be an explanation, right? Or could it be she liked him more…?

Grace soon slipped into the Station wagon with the others as quiet as could be. She seemed off. Everyone could tell, but Grace continued to look out the car window as if nothing had happened.

"Hey… Anyone see Will?" Sally asked.

xXx

Will watched as everyone went out the front doors of the mall. He would have followed but he saw two looming dark figures near the exit. They were surrounding him… He couldn't escape the suffociating feeling. He couldn't take this being anymore. A great pain struck his head as he soon was bent over, holding his head in his hands. The dark figures were getting closer… their yellow eyes gleaming brightly as their claws drew closer to his face. Could no one see what was going on! He looked around to see that he was the only human in the area.

"I could help you, you know." He heard a female's voice in the distance. Will looked up to see a short haired blond woman with grey eyes staring back at him… Her black cape fluttered slightly as he took note of the odd symbol of an upside down heart on her tight dress. No shadows in sight…

"But how did you…?"

"You want help? I can… I just ask for one favor in return."

Will stood in silence for a moment. She could take the illusions away… His pain and suffering would be gone. He'd be able to finally fit in… to finally feel at home somewhere and no longer have to worry about what would come after him next. He looked back over to the blonde woman. Her black cape fluttered slightly as he took note of the odd symbol of an upside down heart on her tight dress.

"I'll do it… Just tell me you're name first."

"My name? Well, you can call me… M."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hi, I'm sorry it's been so long. Read my profile for all my excuses because my excuses are good ones. ANYWAY, I plan on keeping up with this story. Feedback motivates me and yes, I got the names Will and Grace from the show "Will & Grace" This stuff is going to get intense very soon. Be ready. :D By the way, can someone reply to a review? If so, someone tell me how... please?


	10. Chapter 10

Ever since that night, things shifted within the group. Will became more distant. He spoke occasionally, but past that, it appeared that his mind was in another place. Riku came over more frequently, but with a crowded house, he could never get Grace alone. Also, Dano had become a new addition to their happy family. She came by at least every other day.

A hard day shift at Grace's family's restaurant had ended and she was ready to crash for the day. As she exited the doors and began her walk home, she felt a presence walking behind her. She had the reaction any normal human being would have…

"_Oh my god, I am going to die. I'm going to be raped and die in a dark alleyway… Just stay calm. Maybe if you walk quicker he won't rape you… AHHHH!"_

"Hey there!" Riku exclaimed while he caught up to Grace, who jumped at his shout, "Whoa, you okay there? Did I frighten you? Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Grace tried to ignore his smirk, but she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. He was just too cute. The two walked in silence for a good portion of the walk. Grace wanted to talk, but she couldn't get the words to come out. It seemed her brain and heart were having an argument with her mouth.

"The stars sure are perfect out tonight then again I always did love the stars," Riku stated quietly. He couldn't help but think of how they reminded him of the sparkle in Grace's eyes.

"You know, people always seem to prefer the stars, but I've always found the moon to hold my interest," she stuttered slightly, "I guess our difference in views could mean that we complete each other in a way."

Silence was shared between the two, as Grace's blush grew thick. She didn't want to refer to them being a unit, but now that it was out there. Nothing about it sounded bad. In fact, it sounded… great.

"About that… When we went to the mall that one day, I saw Drake "

"HEY WHORE! WAY TO LEAVE ME BEHIND!" Lulu shouted as she darted up to Grace and picked her up by the waist. Grace went limp in hopes to be released. There really was no hope in that.

"Geez, relax. I thought you were hanging with Will later," Grace replied softly since all the blood was slowly draining from her head, "or is he still being emotionally 'blocked off' from the rest of the world still."

"I don't know. I'm worried about him. You know how depressed he gets sometimes."

xXx

Will was curled in one corner of the dark room trying to ignore the now bleeding cut on his forearm. The creatures were back… and they were stronger. He had never seen them this fierce before. They had never made him _bleed_ before. The poor boy was shaking with fear.

Sure, in the past he wanted to end his life. He always felt lonely. He thought he'd never find anyone who'd care about him, but his friends showed him that he could be loved. Now he wasn't sure if he'd have a choice in the matter of his end. In that moment, he heard a voice M's voice.

"_Remember, I can make it all go away. I just need you to do me a favor."_

She was right. He didn't have to suffer. He could be normal… With the decision finally made, he slipped into Grace's room. He figured that since she'd only just start coming home from work now, he'd have just enough time to get it. Luckily for him, she started leaving her messenger bag behind. As he started to riffle through the bag he heard voices coming from outside.

"I can't believe she fell asleep with me holding her like that!" Lulu exclaimed still holding a limp Grace by the waist, "In the meantime, why are you still here?"

"Well, I wanted to say goodnight to Grace at least, but…"

As if on cue, Sally came running out and snatched Lulu's purse. Lulu put Grace on the porch step and ran after Sally while shouting about how she wanted her _personal_ items back from her bag. It was most likely chocolate.

Riku made a mental note to thank Sally later. Little Grace let out a light snore before he went to pick her up. He couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she looked when she slept. With that in mind, he began carrying her to her room.

Will heard the footsteps coming into the house and panicked. His moves became more frantic and he searched through her bag. As he finally picked up the notebook, he heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. With quick action, he hurried behind the door.

Riku walked into Grace's room and flipped on her lights. She snuggled up to his warm frame as he tried to get to her bed. Riku's heart was pacing at her being this close. His blush couldn't be helped, but as he finally got her into her bed, she had a hold of his arm.

"Don't go," she murmured into his arm while nuzzling his arm.

"W-why?" Riku asked quietly leaning in closer. She obviously looked as though she was still asleep, but he couldn't help but felt she was talking to him and not just in her sleep.

"Please…" she whispered as if close to tears, "I love you."

Riku froze. Was Grace really saying this to him! Did he feel the same? …Yes… He couldn't deny that much longer. This elated feeling came over him and he couldn't wait to take her in his arms. He wanted to kiss her and create more memories with her as life continued on.

"I love you too, Grace," he whispered as she responded with light snoring. He sweat dropped and tucked her into her bed. He figured he'd have plenty of time to show her how much he cared.

xXx

"Took you long enough," M hissed as Will handed over Grace's notebooks. She took the books and flipped through it quickly. Behind her, a man appeared from a dark portal. She handed the books over to him. "You know what to do," she snickered.

"What are you going to do with them?" Will asked now regretted his actions.

"Oh, don't worry about that," she smiled as her words felt like ice to his veins, "You're safe. Isn't that what matters?"

With those words, her morbid cackle filled the air and she disappeared into the darkness of the night. Will looked up to the full moon. What had he done?

xXx

"By the way, thanks for distracting Lulu," Riku finally got to say to Sally as they sat out on the porch. Lulu finally did get her purse back from Sally and from their knowledge they were pretty positive that Lulu went in hiding to eat and/or protect her chocolate.

"It's no problem."

"So they really don't like me, huh?"

"I hope you didn't just realize this…"

"No, I'm pretty positive Will wants Grace to be his and hates me because of that fact."

"HAH! Wow, you're not the most perceptive of people are you?" Sally continued to laugh, as Riku looked lost, "Will's gay."

"What? Really? Is that why he's so good with hair?"

"No! Well… maybe. That's beside the point. Will's just overprotective of her. We all are. She's changed so much since we first met her. We never want to see her back to the way she was…"

"Well, I would never hurt her! I care too much about her…"

"I know. That's why I'm on team Riku"

"Team Riku?" as the question was in the air, Riku looked over to find Sally in a cheerleading outfit of yellow and bluish-purple with an "R" acrossed it. "Really?"

"Too much?"

"**YES.**"

The two gulped as Lulu appeared behind them with chocolate slightly dripping down her face. Lulu's eyes were fierce as they locked on Riku. For once, Riku actually feared for his safety. The sound of whistling got Lulu's attention over to Sally who was waving a chocolate bar in the air.

"…Fine. He can stay," with that she took the bar and went back into the shadows of the house. The two continued to talk and watch the full moon.

xXx

"Madam, should I begin with our plan?"

"Yes, Xanto. The only problem is what to we do about that boy."

"Which one?"

"The silver haired one, you dolt. You think I care about that crazy one. He's already putty in our hands. We need a good distraction… and I've got just the plan," the lady of the darkness cackled while her cape fluttered slightly in the breeze of her dark, empty lair.

"Ooo, I do love your plans, M!" Xanto answered with a smirked as his blonde hair got in the way of his empty black eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

Lulu went upstairs to put away some laundry when the sound of crashing items caught her attention. She followed the noise to find it coming from Grace's room. Slowly Lulu opened the door only to be greeted by a few books flying into her face.

"The hell!" Lulu exclaimed. Now ticked off, she marched into the room to find Grace darting all over the place and flinging different items around the room while muttering to herself. "Grace… GRACE!" now catching the small girl's attention, "What the hell is going on!"

"I-I lost it… My notebook."

"Are you sure? That diary of yours has to be somewhere."

"IT WASN'T A DIARY!"

"Uhm, what was it then?"

"T-that's not important right now," Grace would never admit the dark things she wrote in there. She told no one of it. She wasn't even positive why she wrote those things, but it was a release she needed.

"Fine, I'll help," Lulu stated as she rolled her eyes and helped.

xXx

Will tried to stifle the scream in his throat as he saw the dark, yellow-eyed fiends slowly approaching him on his walk to Grace's. Did no one else see them? He looked around to find that no one else was here with him. He could've sworn there were people here a moment ago… maybe he was crazy after all.

"_They're not there. Just walk past them. You can do this."_

He begun to walk past the when one nimble one took a swipe at Will's chest getting through his shirt and nipping the skin. Blood began to soak his shirt as he was taken aback by the reality he was stuck in. His delusions now stood before him as living, breathing, monsters waiting to kill him.

"_I need to get out of here… I need witnesses."_

The pain stung but the adrenaline rush pushed him forward. He darted as quickly as he could down the street but as he was about to round the corner a black figure stood before him blocking Will's path. The figure had the same form as a human but its skin was dark and veiny. The height difference between the creature and Will was frightening. Its beady yellow eyes stood out and its antennas atop its head twitched as it inched towards Will. Will began to stumble backwards tripping as he did.

"I can make it stop. I just need one more favor," M's familiar voice rang through the sky as the figure took a few more curious steps towards Will.

"What? What could you possibly need now!" The figure's arms were now raised as if about to strike. Will looked into those yellow, eerie eyes wondering if he was ready to except this fate.

"Get me her collar." With that statement spoken, every creature evaporated. As a result, Will collapsed on the concrete of the sidewalk trying to wait for his heart to slow down.

xXx

A panting Grace was sprawled in defeat out on the floor of her room. She was covered in a cold sweat. It had been two hours of searching and Lulu leaned against the doorframe watching Grace curiously. Nothing was ever allowed to get by Lulu. She'd stick her nose in her friends' business no matter the situation.

"So… what's so special about this notebook?" Lulu stated in a gentle tone, but the flushed face and glare Lulu received from Grace made her fearful… for a second that is. "…_Well?"_

Grace, still on the ground, faced away from her friend. She never wanted to admit why she wanted her book… why she felt she _needed_ it. Her mind drifted back to that day…

xXx

_It was sunny day. One of those days where everyone is tempted to go outside and let the warmth of the Sun cup his or her face. The family was outside having a picnic. Grace, a mere 7 years old, cautiously jumped off the swing that her and Fallon were playing on and ran to the little drinking fountain. _

_Her wavy auburn hair bounced as she skipped happily up, not even taking notice of who lurked in the shadows of the shady tree. The figure drew closer as Grace continued to lap water and hummed loudly to herself. Grace could hear Fallon calling her name from the swings. Her smile widen at the idea of playing more with her grandma, until she heard something in the shadows scoff. The small girl gasped and jumped back ready to run till she made out the person in the shadows._

_It was Aunt Mimi, a woman of many scowls. Her dark grey eyes seemed to bore into Grace's innocent blue ones. If Grace had known what evil looked like, she would've known not to stand there and idly stare at the woman her parents warned her to stay away from. Of course, she was too little to make a smart decision. She thought she was being brave by standing there with such a foreboding woman._

"_You're Mom's favorite, huh? First Cal, now you how cute," Mimi scoffed and rolled her eyes, "The man gets everything. Regardless, things won't be looking so pretty in a few years."_

_Grace tilted her head and looked all around at the happiness. The trees green and lush, the smile on her parents' faces, the cheers Fallon gave as Grace's parents decided to race one another in the park, the laughter how could this ever end?_

"_You might not believe me, brat, but I see it all," another scowl came over Mimi's face as she pulled a notebook from behind her back, "You're going to see some dark things. Here's an escape. It will help you get all the bad things out of that _pretty _little head of yours."_

_Grace tilted her head. Was her aunt trying to help her? She looked around at her family scared to think of what bad could possibly happen to them. When she went to look back at her aunt, no one was there._

_Later that day Grace found the same book lying on her bed with a note saying: "Save it for when you need it." Maybe Mimi actually cared… Was this her way of showing it?_

xXx

It was Grace's only evidence that Mimi cared about her. The woman who only scowled might have actually cared about her like Fallon did. She didn't want to give that up. Lulu continued to look at her with an eyebrow raised. There was no way Grace was going to tell Lulu about the notebook. Lulu wouldn't understand.

"Oh… nothing… it's more like a diary, I guess." Grace stammered as her face was flushed from lying.

xXx

Darkness was all he could see, but there was an odd jabbing in his side. It wasn't painful, but more weak and delicate. He groaned at the annoyance as it continued. Why was everything dark anyway? What happened? Wait… M… those _things_!

Will jolted upwards opening his eyes only to butt heads with the Latino Wonder who'd been poking him this whole time. Both groaned and rubbed their bumps. How long had he been out? More importantly why was she here? Did she see anything!

"Will, are you okay? I was on my way to Grace's when I found you like this," Dano offered to help Will up, but he just sat up and ignored her gesture.

He blue eyes bore into her innocent caramel ones. Though in appearance they were different, Will couldn't help but feel that Dano and Grace were very similar. The shy quiet demeanor matched with that willingness to express herself. If she had pale skin and blue eyes, they'd be the same person.

"Will? Hellloooo?" Dano waved her hand in front of his face with a worried expression on her face.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I'm fine," he stated putting on his emotionless mask once again as he went to get up only to feel a hand pull at his sleeve.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Will looked at her in silence waiting for her to continue. She didn't understand at first, but just looked at her nervously. The eye contact went on for too long and she eventually caught on. " So how did the you guys all meet? Like how'd you meet Grace? Drake wouldn't tell me much. He just kept muttering about Grace."

"He's probably just surprised at how much she's changed."

"Grace was different? I find that hard to believe."

"She…" He paused. Why was he telling her this? Something about her made him want to tell her it all… Maybe it was because of how much she reminded him of Grace. "…was depressed."

"Then how'd she change?"

xXx

"_It's been a month since Grace has transferred to this school, and we still haven't gotten her to crack a smile," Sally exclaimed as she threw her hands up in agitation._

_The three were waiting for Grace to meet them outside of the school. They walked home together everyday even though Grace never really spoke. She merely said a "yes" or "no" when asked a question._

"_Well she's obviously shutting herself out from the world," Will stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "We need to get her to open up."_

"_I think we should take her somewhere special. We've never all hung out before. It might do her some good!" Lulu exclaimed._

_At that moment, Grace stepped out of the school. Her sickly pale skin clashed with the sunny atmosphere of the town. Her auburn hair practically masked her face. The one eye that was barely seen practically screeched out her pain. The three frowned a little at Grace's sad appearance. The pale girl waved her thin hand over to them as her twig-like legs carried her over to the group. She stated at the, barely blinking as she waited for the group to start the journey home._

"_Let's go to the park!" Lulu shouted as she pointed forward and marched away. Grace tilted her head. A look of confusion spread across the part of her face that could be seen._

"_That's the wrong way…" Will stated in an annoyed tone as he sighed and lead everyone in the right direction, "I'm surrounded by idiots."_

"_Guys! Wait up!" Lulu whined as she raced and tripped here and there to catch up with them._

_The part was rather bare. Within its grounds, there was a small swing set, a meager slide, and an old looking seesaw. All of it was painted blue, but the weather over the years ate away at the paint causing the rusted silver metal to show._

_Sally ran and cackled madly as she dashed to the slide. Everyone, including Grace, shivered at the sight. Sally, with the psychotic smile still plastered on her face, gestured for the group to come over and Lulu linked arms with Grace before she could even think of fleeing._

"_I'm guessing a round of Lemon?" Lulu questioned as Sally slid down the slide with a crazed gleam in her eyes._

_The other three made their way up the spiral slide. Lulu went down first and accidentally kicked Sally in the face. Next came Will, which apparently caused harm to those in his way. Lulu groaned about something being broken and wanting to throw up as Will cackled in response._

_They all chanted for Grace to come down. Soon the sound of her coming down excited the group. Will looked up from his spot on the slide just in time to see her come down. Her hair was out of her face and he could see the look of excitement in her eyes. He also took notice of the beginnings of a smile that crept on her lips. He couldn't help but grin as he dug his elbow a little deeper into Lulu's side._

_The game continued till Lulu almost threw up. They decided a sick Lulu was a bad Lulu. Sally ran to the swings with Grace in tow. The small girl still did not talk, but luckily got her smiling… at least till she was till she stopped dead in front of the swings. Grace's eyes glazed over as if she was living some nightmare of a memory. Her lips took on a frown._

"_Hey Grace, can I ask you something?" Lulu asked which snapped Grace back into reality. Grace nodded nervously. "Why so quiet?"_

_Sally and Will tensed a bit at the seriousness of the situation. Though Lulu was one to not take regard in other's feelings and she always learned what she wanted to find out, they did not expect much. At most they expected Grace to just shrug or ignore the question all together._

"…_There's no point…"_

_The group's eyes bulged in response. Never had they heard Grace speak so much. Her voice was tiny and guarded. They all were at the edge of their swings waiting for Grace to continue, but they were met with silence. Lulu decided to be the one to solve the mystery, "How can you say that?"_

"_Because there just isn't," Grace snapped, but then her voice went down to a whisper, "it doesn't help." She was shaking now. "No matter what's said… Everything's set in motion. No lives can be saved. It all takes action that's what truly speaks."_

_There was silence. Grace felt a lump in her throat as she thought back to everything that happened over the past years. She couldn't handle it. She was alone and no one would be able to understand how she felt. Who could she ever talk to? There were so many times she felt like spilling her soul to another person, but each time she was proven that it wouldn't change anything._

"_You know, you're not alone in your thinking," Lulu broke the silence, "You're wrong in some ways though. Talking helps. Having someone by your side can make that darkness seem a little lighter. I use to feel that way, but I learned through friendship. We could help with that. You talk more and open up and I promise you that you've got friends in us."_

_Lulu reached out her hand to shake on that arrangement. Grace stared down the invitation. Could this be for real? It was hard to believe that, but the idea of companionship sounded better by the minute. She took Lulu's hand. Will and Sally stacked their hands on top and they shook. _

xXx

"Wow, a promise really keeps friends together. She's lucky to have you guys always be there for her."

In that moment, Will saw how much of an ass he really was. He spent so much time pushing away a guy Grace really liked only because he didn't want her to get hurt, yet he stole her notebook for a woman he barely knew for his own selfish needs. How could he do that? He jumped up, mind ablaze. He knew he had to fix this. Dano didn't even have a chance at catching up with Will as he jetted off into the night.

xXx

M looked out the window of her tower, pondering her next move. She thought the boy would've been a good pawn but her looking glass showed that her pawn had a rebellious streak. Xanto appeared from a dark portal.

"Shall I wait to retrieve the dog tags from the boy?" his eyes flickered around as if he hoped for some entertainment to come into his life.

"How close are you from finishing your work?"

"Give me three days and you'll have all you've ever wanted."

"Well, since you've been such a good boy, I'll let you have a little gift. From me to you," she mused as she blew the man a kiss. A cheesy grin came across his tan and scarred face.

"I'm all ears," he purred as he came up to M and gently took her hand and kissed each finger.

"Many would consider this a job, but not you. You like games," an evil smirk appeared from her lips, "I want you to play one with that boy. Teach him what happens when the pawn tries to be a knight for the other side."

"As you wish," and with that he went back into the portal.

M chuckled. She had never smiled this much when she had a heart. It's not like her heart was filled with love either. No one ever showed it to her. She was always in the shadows of that dolt Cal. He never deserved that attention. Mother would learn to love her. M strode over to the corner of the room where a bed was place. On the bed laid the body of an older woman.

"You'll learn. You'll rue the day you gave birth to that cur… all in good time." Her cackled echoed against the walls.

A/N:

So this took me forever to completely put together. I'm sorry. After all the hospital visits, the babysitting of a mom who was feeling "psychedelic" after chemo, and trying to graduation, I was losing my mind. Luckily, I want to live my summer to the fullest before I start college. Expect more updates. I found a way around my glitching mouse so now I can actually type. Anyway, I made this extra long for you guys. There are a lot of flashbacks but all for good reason. I hope you guys enjoyed. :D


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey, have you seen Will lately? He didn't come in last night," Sally asked Lulu while at work getting drinks for her table.

Lulu stiffened at Sally's words. She knew something had been up. He was more closed off and panicky. Her senses went into overdrive as she thought of hundreds of things that could've gone wrong with her little friend. She had to find him and find him soon.

xXx

Grace stood in front of Riku's house. She felt nervous since she'd never actually been to his house. It wasn't like she was invited either. She had been so caught up in finding her notebook that she didn't get to see Riku lately and she was beginning to miss him. Gathering up all her courage, she finally knocked on the door.

It sounded as though footsteps were coming from inside and soon the door opened to reveal a woman. The woman had to be at least in her early forties. She had platinum blonde hair and bright green eyes that matched her cheery disposition. When her eyes landed on Grace, the woman's smile grew larger.

"Are you that girl my boy keeps going on about?" she chirped as she gestured for Grace to come in, "He's not in yet, but please make yourself at home."

"Thanks. So… where did he go?" Grace asked trying not to blush at Riku's mom's words.

"I think he finally went to get a hair cut. That boy would grow his hair out like Repunzel if I didn't push him to do it," his mother continued as she usher Grace into the kitchen and pot the kettle on the stove, "so how did you two love birds meet?"

Grace automatically felt intimidated. Love birds? Was it really fair to call them that? These types of thoughts ran through Grace's mind. She didn't know what to expect with Riku's mom, but she didn't know how bubbly one person could be with a total stranger.

"I-I…"

"Oh, I see I've made you feel nervous. I'm sorry. I've just never seen Riku bring a girl around here that wasn't Kairi accompanied with Sora. I was beginning to think that that boy had no interest in girls," she chuckled to herself as the kettle whistled. Getting up, she looked over at Grace and asked, "Would you like some hot cocoa?"

"YES!" Grace exclaimed loudly by accident and quickly covered her mouth as a blush covered her face.

xXx

Will couldn't remember how he ended up trapped in this dark room. There was no door and no light source. The windows that were there were boarded up with odd wisps of darkness oozing out where sunlight should of come out of. He didn't stand up just yet, but instead laid there on his back trying to soak in the situation.

"_Well hello there," _a deep male voice echoed through the room, _"I was wondering how long it'd take you to wake up."_

In a panicked state, he sprang to his feet and looked around. Still no one was around. He was wondering if he had actually lost it and if this was him trapped in his own mind. While trying not to scream, he tried to remember the last real thing he did. Yes! It was trying to find Grace to apologize… but what happened after?

"_Now don't worry," _the voice continued, _"I'm not here to kill you… just to play a game."_

"Who are you?" Will asked quietly as if he was too afraid to raise his voice.

"_Oh, you don't know me, but I know you!"_ a chuckled followed, _"You should be more concerned with why you're here." _Just as that was said, a man appeared out of the darkness of the corner room. The man had short blond hair. A star was shaved into the left side of his head and his nose was pierced. His eyes were such a light blue that they almost looked white. His black cloak suggested that he was one of those people that roamed in the darkness. He had mischief in his eyes.

"I guess this implies I've done something wrong," Will's voice quivered slightly as the man before him strode a bit in his direction. He wanted to sound strong. After all the man did say that the plan was not to kill Will.

"_Obviously, yes, but I'd rather focus on our game for the moment," _the man's smile grew as his face was now inches from Will's, _"I say we make it fun."_ At that moment, the man snapped his fingers and heartless appeared behind him. Will staggered back a bit, but a sword materialized before his feet. _"You might want to pick up that sword before I start hacking at you."_

"I thought you weren't going to kill me!" Will exclaimed as he quickly fumbled for the sword.

"_You should realize by now that this kind of thing happens when promises aren't kept. Sound familiar at all?" _With that, the man jolted forward at Will. He blocked the man's attack, but barely. The heartless followed in pursuit. Will was able to block most of the attacks, but was still taking slight damage. One of the heartless were defenses were down so Will took his chance to strike. As soon as the heartless vanished, he felt a burning pain on his forearm. Looking down for a moment, he saw a giant slash mark on his arm. _"I do love that sword," _the man exclaimed as he stood back a bit from the attacking heartless, _"Every time you do damage to your opponent, you take on damage as well. See, isn't this fun!?"_

Will's mouth went dry at the thought. He kept blocking the attacks though as he tried to think. "You have a weird notion of fun…" Will mumbled to himself wearily as he continued to block. It was his only hope of survival at this point.

"_Oh, you find me weird? Well, I assume you do not know much of the word,"_ the man continued, _"I find it weird how you so easily followed my master's command at first, but now no longer cooperate with us. That, my friend, is weird."_

"Why do you even want her collar anyway?" this time Will shouted this in agitation. He was tired of this man's "game".

"_Oh, all in good time, my friend, all in good time,"_ with that, the man slashed at Will.

xXx

Riku hung his head down as he went to his front door. He was hoping to avoid his mom for the moment so he wouldn't hear the laughter of his bad haircut. Stupid hairdresser didn't seem to understand what an "inch off" meant. His mother would deffinently not be able to keep her mouth shut about this like how she was with everything else. This is why he tried his best to not invite people over. Oddly enough though, he heard talking coming from inside.

While opening the door, he was able to spot his worst nightmare. There was Grace and his mother getting along and looking through his old baby pictures. Grace was looking at one of him naked in a tub when she finally looked up at him. Her smile widened. He was hoping with all his being that they wouldn't laugh at his haircut, but his hopes were washed away as both his mom and Grace cracked up at his short hair. Not being able to take the embarrassment, he quickly rushed upstairs to his room.

"That boy is just to sensitive sometimes," Riku's mom said with a slight laugh as she wiped away a tear of laughter.

"May I go up and check on him?" Grace asked now feeling bad for laughing.

"Yes, honey. It'll be the first door on your right."

Now finally in front of his door, she stood there nervously. She had never been in a male's room before…. Okay, a STRAIGHT male's room. Maybe it was because it was _his_ room that made her so nervous. While taking one deep breathe, she finally knocked on his door softly. Inside there was only a slight groan. Grace took that as a "Please come in".

Inside, she could see that his room was a stereotypical male's room. The walls were painted a light blue and clothes were scattered around, but what caught her attention the most was the adult Riku hiding his head under a pillow. Quietly, she tiptoed up to his bed and poked lightly at his side. The only reaction she got was a slight mutter that sounded like "go away" so… she poked him again.

"Stop it, mom!" Riku snapped as he quickly sat up causing him to butt heads with Grace, "Oh god, I'm sorry!" He quickly pulled Grace next to him on the bed and checked her forehead.

"It's okay," she mumbled and quickly stuttered out an "I'm sorry."

"Huh? For what?" he asked still examining her closely. Her face heated up at his closeness. She could feel his warm breath on her face. It smelled minty and played along nicely with his musk. "Are you huffing me?" he asked with an eyebrow raise.

"W-what!? No!" she stammered out as she pushed away from him and moved to the other side of the bed, "I-I'm just trying to apologize for laughing earlier!"

"If you really want to huff me, you could just ask," Riku teased. Feeling confident now, he pulled her against his chest. "Is this what you wanted?"

Grace normally would try to thrash away, but she felt so cozy in his arms. Her heart was in frenzy, but she couldn't deny that it felt like she belonged there. He was just so warm and smelled so nice. She nearly caught herself nuzzling against him, but stopped herself.

"You don't need to apologize," Riku spoke so softly she could barely hear it, "Holding you like this makes up for it."

"Really? Why?" the words came out without thinking. Grace was ready to smack herself for fear of ruining the moment by whatever he'd say next. Riku's chin was placed on top of Grace's head, as he seemed to squeeze her just a bit tighter. He seemed deep in thought as if he were pondering what to say next. It was driving Grace crazy.

"I have to leave soon," he said in a monotone voice. He wanted to tell her so badly how he felt, but like Lulu and Will were trying to prove, he didn't deserve her. He knew it. It was a weak notion to think he deserved to hold her so closely. He was still struggling with the darkness within him and he wasn't ready to bring Grace down with him.

"What?" her voice sounded panicked as she turned her body to face him. Her blue eyes looked so panicked and her face was so close to his. He felt he could just close the distance and kiss her right then, but he controlled himself.

"The King wants us to report to Yen Sid's. It's some sort of mission. I don't know how long I'll be away, but…"

At that point, Grace clutched onto Riku tightly and murmured, "Promise me you'll return home safely."

"What?"

"I understand if you have something you really need to do, but just promise me you'll return home in one piece… I-I don't want to lose you," she didn't look him in the eye as she said this. She didn't want him to see how vulnerable he made her. Riku was taken aback. He didn't expect her to react like she did, but regardless; it made his heart skip a beat and his face flush.

"I will if you promise to spend these last couple of days with me before I leave," he moved her so she was facing him now and smiled down at her. She returned the smile and nodded.


End file.
